sr'"
The Commoner
10
VOL. 16, NO.
10
t
b
Wilson's Administration a Record of Efficiency
Work of the President Cabinet a Recital of Beneficent Acts for the Service of the People of the Whole Countr
THE POLICY AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DUR
ING THE WILSON ADMINISTRATION
Sinco tho widonlng of the functions of tho
attorney general Into an independent depart
ment of tho government, which occurred about
forty years ago, each incumbent lias given to
his tenuro moro or less of his individual char
acteristics, so that tho department of justice,
charged with tho general supervision of tho ad
ministration of tho federal laws is, during each
administration, in a measure, tho reflection of
tho attorney general as tho head of tho institu
tion. Two attorneys general, differing meas
urably in attainments, disposition and charac
teristics, have represented tho present admin
istration. Nevertheless tho impression left by
both during tho last three and one-half years
is ono of uniform and steady enforcement of
tho laws, froo from interference or control by
thoso occupying positions of power. Tho policy
during these years has been ono of quiet and
effective enforcement of the law under all cir
cumstances. Government cases havo beon pub
licly tried before petty juries In practically all
instances where grand juries or other inquis
itorial bodies have made proper presentation to
that' end. When this policy became generally
known it discouraged tho disposition to resort
to importunities and supplications, correspond
ence and interviews seeking to present special
reasons why particular prosecutions should bo
abated.
INCOME TAX UPHELD
Tho prosent administration has succeeded in
upholding tho constitutionality of tho benefi
cent income tax and similar recent legislation
calculated to impose tho burdens of federal tax
. ation on thoso who receive the most protection
and are best ablo to bear these burdens, and to
mako them fall moro lightly on tho less fortu
nato classes.
In liko manner, there has beon a strict en
forcement of tho statutes intondod to protect
tno public from schemes and devices designed
to overreach the people and fleece them through
impropor use of tho mails.
Decided strides have beon made in establish
ing tho right of tno federal government to pro
tect the olectorato and to punish concerted ef
rorts at fraud in olections where federal officers
aro being voted for.
Tho department has actively engaged in an
earnest effort to prevent favorltisnf in the i
position of criminal sentences; and tho power
,vninr Ja deimrtment keep the navigable
waters of tho country open against all obstruc
tions has been Bteadily upheld and sustained.
Much attention has been devoted to tho na
turalization and immigration la,ws, and interpre
tations havo been secured which will permit eu-
trance into this country of capable and healthy
foreigners, permitting all those who are worthy
to secure the rights of American citizenship,
and excluding thoso who aro uninformed wit
respect to our constitution and system of gov
ernment, nJ10 has ?een an earnt effort to enforce
tho Mann act, or White Slave law, according
to its true ntent, and in so doing to inform th!
general public with regard to thoso abuses
wherein there have been illegal attempt im
personate officers of tho government and inposo
upon tho timid -and unfortunate. P
NEUTRALITY LAWS ENFORCED
During tho last two years, tho neutrality
aws and their enforcement havo taken a prom-
wL?laC Which' forttely, has not been
heretofore necessary to accord them for more
than ono hundred years, and in this period of
stress and strain the department of justice has
addressed itself to thq task in hand wUh firm
ness and discrimination. During the period
mentioned, eighty-five offenders out of eighty
six havo been convicted of violating these laws
some for conspiracy; others lor hero recruiting
tho armies of other nations; somo for org ine
passports; others for organizing military expe
ditions against friendly nations; several for
smuggling arms and munitions; other for con
spiring to destroy vessels and cargoes In our
ports and on tho high seas; and others for com
mitting various illegal acts' of similar charac
ter. One of these convicted offenders was sen
tenced to tho penitentiary for Hfe, and shorter
penitentiary terms, jail sentences, and fines were
imposed upon or assessed against others. Of
these eighty-five, all males, seventy-fivo of them
were foreigners or naturalized American citi
zens representing six nations. It is regrettable
to note that the remaining ten were natural born
Americans. In addition to this very largo num
ber successfully prosecuted, there are now pend
ing indictments against a largo number of oth
ers charging similar offenses.
NATION'S RIGHTS PRESERVED
Tho energy and persistence displayed by this
department during tho present administration
in its efforts to enforce the law and preserve
tho property righto of the United States have
beon well rewarded by what has been actually
accomplished, and what is in prospect of ac
complishment, in litigations concerning the pub
lic domain, the public reservations, tho water
powers, the allotted and tribal lands of tho
Indians, and the oil fields reserved by the gov
ernment for naval Supply. To catalogue these
achievements would extend this article beyond
tho limits which can bo accorded by this pub
lication, and the greatness and importance of
these accomplishments is not to be measured by
the number of cases or the Instances of success,
but rather by that steady maintenance of tho
rights of the people and their wards the In
diansagainst trespassers and the holders of
pretended titles fraudulently or otherwise un
lawfully acquired, and by establishing through
the courts salutory principles protective of the
public interest and preserving for the people the
vast benefits which flow to them from the pub
lic domain and the many natural belongings
which attach to the same in their favor In
this same connection, it is to bo observed that
this administration has fortunately secured such
an Interpretation of tho reclamation act as will
permit the completion of some of the larrest
projects to irrigate hundreds 6f thousands of
acres of arid land for the benefit of settlers
which projects were seriously imperiled throuch
alleged inability to carry projected canals and
ffls!ayS aCrSS IndIan reservatious or tribal
FEDERAL ACTS STRENGTHENED
There are no federal laws which so vitally and
directly affect the public, health and wllfare as
the Food & Drug act, and the Meat Infection
act, which during the last three years have
been greatly strengthened and vitalized l hv f?
H dOOtaloilB, that the min rious"
questions which had arisen tending to hamner
f eCtV;?ess of these ws have heln re
moved and the path cleared of obstacles whloh
ThILCime,? t0 be mor or nwSSSntobto
Z! rfnTfa-"
qP?vWSwty Apliance acts and the Hours of
SSE-2lffiSfw
PREVENTION OP MONOPOLY
arcenUal to the Kweto" 'S.T?
ergetlc enforcement of the law has bPP c
by the present efficient iteiSS "
department of justice. There are now i
In the federal courts thirty-eiJht ! n,ding
under these acts, while touoSL"?"
instituted will result in other proceed?! d.?
the wrongs to the public set forth in The?"
plaints are found to exist. No good rLn
ould be subserved hy listing the SSSunffi8
the more Important thought being that substan
t al progress has been made along fundainentai
lines. The essential weakness in the S
ment of these anti-trust acts during prevS
'administrations was the failure to insist imon
a real dissolution of the monopolies and ?oZ
hinatiOns which the courts adjudged unlawful
In tho principal case In the Roosevelt 2
istratlon-the Northern Securities case; in the
-principal cases in the Taft administration-tho
'Standard Oil case, the Tobacco case! and Se
Powder case, the parts into which the unlawful
monopoly was divided were left by the decree
of the court under the dominion of the same set
of persons who had previously controlled. Such
dissolutions merely changed the form of the
monopoly, since, of course, competition in any
real sense can not exist hetween corporations
which are in turn controlled by the same per
sons or tho same money. The law was thu?
practically nullified by reason of the defective
manner of its enforcement. To illustrate: the
various companies Into which the Standard Oil
Company was divided were permitted to remain
under the common control of the former ma
jority stockholders of the Standard Oil Company
of New Jersey, the defendant in the suit, there
by permitting a situation wherein the very per
sons who formed the dissolved combination
continued to dominate the now companies and
thereby continued to dominate the trade. The
futility of these proceedings became -justly sub
ject to strong popular complaint. In the first
place they completely failed to open the way
for the restoration of competitive conditions in
the particular trades affected. In the second
Place they weakened popular confidence in the
antitrust laws by leading many to believe that
they afforded inadequate remedy for the eyil of
monopoly, when, as a matter of fact, the trouble
rested not in the law, but in the manner of its
enforcement. The present administration lias
changed this and in every case has strongly in
sisted that the several parts into which the un
lawful combination or monopoly was divided
Bhould themselves pass separate and distinct
ownerships, and that they in no instance be
left under the control of the same set of men
who theretofore dominated the offending mon
opoly. By this means a real way for the res
toration of competitive conditions has been
reached and insured. While endeavoring to
correct the underlying error which character
ized the enforcement of the law during other
administrations, this one, at the same time, has
been watchful and solicitous to avoid the insti
tution of prosecutions for -which there was no
sure and adequate ground. The policy of the
present attorney general and his immediate
predecessor in office has been to examine care
fully into every complaint presented and where
it developed that business men have entered
into transactions believing in good faith that
they wereUawful, it has been deemed wisest and
best not to immediately apply the extreme pen
alties against them if they show a disposition
to bring themselves and their transactions into
?on frmity with the ,aw Iff ll(mever after no
tice that they are transcending the limitations
of the law, a disposition to continue in wrong
doing has been evinced, the administration has
shown no hesitancy in proceeding with prose
cutions where the rights of tho public were im
periled. SUBSTANTIAL ACHIEVEMENTS
While the achievements of this department
are possibly less spectacular than those of some
of the others through which a great government
must move and act for the public weal, they
are, none-the-less important and substantial, for
the decrees of courts and constituted tribunals
are lasting, and .the enforcement of the law and
the administration of justice without fear or
) '