The river press. [volume], December 06, 1911, Image 1

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The River Press.
Vol. XXXII.
Fort Benton, Montana, Wednesday, December 6, 19".
No. 7
MESSAGE OF
THE PRESIDENT
Mr, Taft Champions the Anti
trust Statute.
log
NEW REMEDIES SUGGESTED.
Net Repeal or Amendment, but Sup
plemental Legislation Needed—The
Tobacco Trust Decision an Effective
One—Federal Incorporation Recom
mended and a Federal Corporation
Commission Proposed—The Test of
"Reasonableness."
To the Senate and House of Repre
sentatlves:
This message Is the first of several
which I shall send to congress during
the interval between the opening of
Its regular session and Its adjourn
ment for the Christmas holidays. The
amount of Information to be commu
nlcated as to the operations of the
government, the number of important
subjects calling for comment by the
executive and the transmission to con
gress of exhaustive reports of special
commissions make it Impossible to In
clude In one message of a reasonable
length a discussion of the topics that
ought to be brought to the attention
of the national legislature at its first
regular session.
The Anti-trust Law—The Supreme
Court Decisions.
In May last the supreme court hand
ed down decisions in the suits in equi
ty brought by the United States to en
join the further maintenance of the
Standard Oil trust and of the Ameri
can Tobacco trust and to secure their
dissolution. The decisions are epoch
making and serve to advise the busi
ness world authoritatively of the
scope and operation of the anti-trust
act of 1890. The decisions do not de
part in any substantial way from the
previous decisions of the court In con
struing and applying this important
statute, but they clarify those deci
sions by further defining the already
admitted exceptions to the literal con
struction of the act. By the decrees
they furnish a useful precedent as to
the proper method of dealing with the
capital and property of illegal trusts.
These decisions suggest the need and
wisdom of additional or supplemental
legislation to make it easier for the
entire business community to square
with the rule of action and legality
thus finally established and to pre
serve the benefit, freedom and spur of
reasonable competition without loss of
real efficiency or progress.
A
>No Change In the Rule of Decision,
Merely In Its Form of Expression.
The statute In its first section de
clares to be illegal "every contract,
combination in the form of trust or
otherwise or conspiracy In restraint
of trade or commerce among the sev
eral states or with foreign nations"
land In the second declares guilty of a
misdemeanor "every person who shall
! monopolize or attempt to monopolize
ior combine or conspire with any other
person to monopolize any part of the
trade or commerce of the several states
or with foreign nations."
In two early cases, where the statute
was invoked to enjoin a transporta
tion rate agreement between Inter
state railroad companies, it was held
that It was no defense to show that
the agreement as to rates complained
of was reasonable at common law, be
cause it was said that the statute was
! directed against all contracts and com
binations In restraint of trade, whether
reasonable at common law or not It
was plain from the record, however,
that the contracts complained of in
those cases would not have been deem
ed reasonable at common law. In sub
sequent cases the court said that the
statute should be given a reasonable
construction and refused to include
within its Inhibition certain contrac
tual restraints of trade which It de
nominated as Incidental or as Indirect
These cases of restrant of trade that
the court excepted from the operation
of the statute were Instances which
at common law would have been call
ed reasonable. In the Standard Oil
and tobacco cases, therefore, the court
merely adopted the tests of the com
mon law and In defining exceptions to
the literal application of the statute
only substituted for the test of being
Incidental or Indirect that of being
reasonable, and this without varying
In the slightest the actual scope and
effect of the statute. In other words,
all the cases under the statute which
have now been decided would have
been decided the same way If the
court had originally accepted In Its
construction the rule at common law.
It has been said that the court by In
troducing into the construction of the
statute common law distinctions has
emasculated it. This is obviously un
true. By its Judgment every contract
and combination in restraint of inter
state trade made with the purpose or
necessary effect of controlling prices
by stifling competition or of establish
to
log In whole or In part a monopoly of
snch trade is condemned by the stat
ute. The most extreme critics cannot
Instance a case that ought to be con
demned under the statute which Is not
brought within Its terms as thus con
strued.
The suggestion Is also made that the
supreme court by Its decision In the
last two cases has committed to the
court the undefined and unlimited dis
cretion to determine whether a case of
restraint of trade Is within the terms
Continued on Page Eight
MONTANA NEWS BRIEaETS
A Budget of Readable dihort Items
From Various Parts of the State.
Townsend , Dac. 2.—Wholesale ar
rests of alleged cattle thieves are be
ing made in Broadwater county as a
result of a determined effort on the
part of the organized stockmen to
stamp out rustling which is declared
to have grown to alarming propor
tions. The old days of the rustlers
who stole cattle and thus started or
augmented a herd are over, but in
their place there is said to have de
veloped a large number of petty
thieves who find it cheaper to kill
beef than to buy it, or to operate on a
small scale by killing other people's
steers and selling them to small butch
ers.
Forsyth , Dec. 2.—A suit in the dis
trict court here, which Is considered
one of the most important to stockmen
ever tried, resulted in the granting of
a temporary restraining order to the
Rea Bros. Sheep company againät
seven sheepmen in this county. The
sheep company has leased a large
number of odd numbered sections in
the northwest part of the county from
the Northern Pacific Railroad com
pany. The land, with the even num
bered government sections, embraces
a territory 21 miles from east to west
and 40 miles from north to south.
Other sheepmen have been grazing
their stock In this territory and the
sheep company asked that they be re
strained from grazing on the railroad
sections.
Helena , Dec. 2.—Seventy-one per
sons were killed and 528 persons were
Injured on Montana railroads during
tbe year beginning Oct. 1,1910 and end
ing September 30, 1911, according to
the annual report of the Montana
railroad commission presented to
Acting Governor W. R. Allen.
Great Falls , Dec. 1.—When the
gambling case against Dan Shields
was called today In Justice Safford's
court, the complaining witness, Chas.
Carr, who alleged he lost $80 in
Shield's place in a poker game, was
not in court, and County Attorney
Greene moved a dismissal of the case.
There has been talk of a grand jury
to look into gambling.
Butte , Dec. 2.—The damage suit
brought In behalf of Mike Novack,
19 years old against the Northern
Pacific railroad company, was con
cluded in Judge Lynch's court yester
day, and the jury returned a verdict
in favor of the boy for the recovery
of I2a,000. It was alleged that young
Novack was injured by being struck
by an engine while he was employed
a* a section hand at Chesnut station.
Lewistown , Dec. 1.—A sensation
was caused here yesterday morning by
the arrest of Felton R. Lyons, a well
known young telegrapher, employed
at the office of the Continental Com
pany, here, on a charge of bigamy
preferred by his first wife, Mrs. Pearl
Lyons of Sioux City, Iowa. Lyons Is
now in the county jail.
Billings , Nov. 30. —Eight carloads
of cattle will be shipped out of Huntley
tomorrow morning by Judge Mann of
this city and Thomas H. Hogan of the
Pry or creek country. The animals
will be forwarded to the markets of
Kansas City. They have been fatten
ed upon beet tops and alfalfa and are
said to be in excellent condition.
Libby , Dec. 1.—During the hunting
season which closed yesterday more
deer have been killed in northwestern
Montana than In any previous season
for many years. It was estimated last
season that 1,000 deer were killed in
Lincoln county, but this year it was
thought that at least 3,000 have been
killed. The heavy snowstorm early
in November drove the deer down out
of the mountains much earlier than
usual and since that time there has
been aj?reat slaughter.
Helena , Dec. 1. — That the big
dredges in operation in Madison coun
ty aid materially In sustaining the
reputation of that county as a gold
producer is indicated by the monthly,
report from the United States assay
office in this city for the month of
November, which shows that tbe de
posit from Madison is 182,566.52, or
nearly one half of the entire deposit
from all of tbe other Montana counties
combined. Chouteau la the second
heaviest depositor, the amount being
$22,555, and Fergus the third with a
deposit of $20,268.65.
■
GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY S EXHIBIT AT NEW YORK LAND SHOW
A NEW TRIU MPH IN THE EAST
Minnesota, Montana and Washington Take Coveted Prizes
at the New York Land Show
In competition with the most re
nowned agricultural sections on the
American continent, the States of
Minnesota, Montana and Washington
have triumphed at the New York
Land Show held at Madison Square
Garden, November 3 to 12.
James Todd Wins Hill Prize
James Todd of Geyser, Montana,
won the J. J. Hill $1,000 silver cup
for the best 100 pounds of winter
wheat grown in the United States
this year. Against competition from
almost every state in the Union the
fertile Judith Basin of Montana came
out on top. The prize grain was of
a yield of seventy-five bushels to the
acre and weighed sixty-five pounds
to the bushel.
Mr. Einsenger of Manhattan, Mon
tana, won the Pabst cup for the
finest exhibit of barley. This contest
was open to the world. Mr. Ein
senger's exhibit was from a field
which averaged 66.8 bushels to the
acre and weighed 57% pounds to the
»ushel.
MCNAMARAS PLEAD GUILTY
Celebrated Dynamiting Case Con
cluded By Accused Men.
Los Angeles , Dec. 1—James J.
McNamara pleaded guilty this after
noon to murder in the first degree in
connection with tbe death of Charles
J. Haggerty, a victim of the Los An
geles Times explosion and fire. His
brother John, jointly indicted with
him, pleaded guilty to dynamiting the
Llewellyn Iron works. They will be
sentenced next Tuesday, December 5.
James B. McNamara probably will
get life imprisonment. John J. Mc
Namara, it was rumored will get 14
years. Each pleaded on tbe charge
of which he was extradited from In
dianapolis. •
Within 15 minutes after court open
ened this afternoon one of the greatest
criminal trials of modern times had
ended so abruptly that many officials
supposedlv in the heart of tbe case
did not know it was going to happen.
The prisoners were taken back to
jail, Judge Waiter Bordwell retired
to his Chambers, and opposing counsel
went to their rooms.
"The MeNamaras have plead guilty
because they were guilty," was Dis
trict Attorney John D. Fredericks'
comment.
"If I could have seen any way out
of it, we would have not done it," said
Clarence S. Darrow after court.
Attorney Darrow stood around the
room after court adjourned and news
papermen crowded around him.
"I'm glad Its over with," aald Dar
row with a sigh. "We have been
working on this for two weeks and it
has been the greatest 9train of my
life. The Times building was blown
up by James McNamara with nitro
glycerine to be sure, but the bomb
touched off the gas and the gas really
did it."
"Did you have to wrestle hard with
tbe MeNamaras to get that admis
sion?" he was asked.
"Somewhat, but the facta have been
overwhelming. Every loophole was
gathered in by the state. Aa far as
I am concerned I felt that sooner or
later it had to come. Things were
happening in which big people were
intereeted. Tbe movement was apall
lug. They wanted the matter cleared
up and feared further bloodshed un
less we obliterated the incident from
Los Angeles at once. Of course, I
feel that I have helped the MeNamaras
by getting them to plead insofar as
they probably will not be sentenced to
death. Life Imprisonment will be
meted out to James B., and John J.
will get off with a light sentence."
Women In Land Frauds.
Washington, Nov. 30.—Extensive
land frauda through the use of sol
diers' declaratory statements have
Messrs. Van Cleve and Sudduth of
Broadview, Montana, on the line of
the Great Northern Railway in Yel
lowstone County, won the silver cup
for the finest exhibit of alfalfa.
On oats the sliver cups went to
Messrs. Patten and Hartman of Boze
man. The oats of their exhibit was
of a yield of 154 bushels to the acre,
weighing forty-five pounds to the
bushel.
Four years ago almost any farmer
in the east would have scoffed at the
idea that Montana could produce
prize winning crops of any kind of
grain. The exhibits at the New York
Land Show have brought more honor
to Montana than any other one Inci
dent in the history of the state.
Montanans have a right to be proud
of their home state, and the next
few years will witness a tremendous
immigration to that state as a result
of the publicity given it through the
New York Land Show.
been unearthed by agents of the gen
et *1 land office in the northwest, and
the commissioner of the land office
has received a report of the indict
ment at Aberdeen, S, D., of a half
dozen persons, including women,
charged with conspiracy in the prac
tices.
At the land office at Timber Lake in
South Dakota 2,100 such statements,
each covering 160 acres of land, have
been filed. The effect of the filing of
these declarations is to hold the land
indefinitely, thus shutting out legiti
mate entrymen. «
It is asserted that not one in twenty
of the statements is followed by actual
proving up. The plan Is to get old
soldiers or the widows of old soldiers
to make preliminary declaration of
intention to take up land under the
law and at tbe same time procure
from them a relinquishment which is
sold to the land seekers. Sometimes
$500 has been obtained for these re
linquishments.
Wool Tariff Revision.
Washington, Nov. 30.— A bill re
vising schedule K of the Payne-Aid
rich tariff law in substantial accord
ance with the findings of the tariff
board will pass both bouses of con
gress and be approved by the presi
dent before the adjournment of the
coming session, In the opinion of
Senator Smoot of Utah, unless Wm.
J. Bryan shall be able to stampede
the house democrats Into taking a
stand for free wool, in which event he
concedes no legislation can be enact
ed. However, he does not anticipate
that Bryan will be able to wrest con
trol of tbe house majority from Chair
man Underwood of the ways and
means committee.
Since the adjournment of the spe
cial session of congress, which cloaed
with the presidential veto of the dem
ocratic wool and other bills, Senator
Smoot has given considerable study
to the wool tariff, and has worked out
a scheme of revising the wool ached
ule in a way to do justice to both the
wool grower and the woolen manu
faoturer and at the same time give the
consumer the benefit of such reduction
In duty as the tariff board may deem
just and proper.
May Defeat Parcels Post.
Washington, Nov . 30. — Great
danger to the parcels post movement
lies in the demand for a one -cent letter
rate, according to Senator Bourne,
chairman of the senate committee on
poatofficee and postroads. A one-cent
letter rate, Senator Bourne thinks,
would|make auch a material reduction
in the revenues of the postoffice de
partment that delay in the establish
ment of a parcels post inevitably
would result.
of
Washington Wins Apple Prizes
The fruit growing districts
Washington won the handsome prize
offered by President Elliott of the
Northern Pacific Railway, $500 in
gold, and the $1,000 silver cup went
to Mrs. Ella D. Rowland of North
Yakima, who exhibited twenty-five
boxes of apples. Mr. A. G. Hauner
of Spokane, Washington, offered the
$1,000 silver cup.
Minnesota Wins Potato and Barley
Prizes
A. B. Hostetter, of Duluth, won the
second ribbon for the best potatoes
in the world. Some of the Judges
thought that he should have been
awarded first prize, but there was
"glory enough for all" and his win
ning the second prize In a world
wide competition shows what the fer
tile soil of Northern Minnesota can
produce. Minnesota also won a sec
ond prize for the best bushel of barley
grown in the world, as A. D. Van
sickle, of Warren, Minnesota, was the
alternate of Mr. Elisinger, which
means second prize.
TARIFF BOARD REPORT.
Important Document Will Soon Be
Given Publicity.
Washington , Dec. 1.—The much
discussed report of the tariff board on
the wool echedule of the Aldrich tariff
bill and the wool industry will be in
the bands of President Taft not later
than December 11. This prediction
was made at the White house to
day after a visit of Chairman Emery
and A. H. Sanders of the board. The
cotton report will be sent to the White
house a few days later.
Mr. Taft spent nearly an hour with
the two members of the board and
urged them to make all possible haste
In the preparation of both reports,
and the board will work nights and
Sundays until its work on these two
schedules and industries is completed.
Mr. Taft's two special tariff mes
sages, one on wool and the other on
cotton, it became known, will be
formal documents. Under tbe act
creating the tariff board, it is not ex
pected to make recommendations for
tariff regulations to congress.
Its reports will show the compara
tive cost of production of wool and
cotton In tbe various states In the
United States and abroad, but it will
not contain conclusions as to any
rates.
It was said at tbe White house to be
the president's understanding that tbe
houss ways and means committee will
make its own investigation of tbe
woolen induatry after it receives the
tariff board's report. Tbe president,
it was said, would hesitate, therefore,
to recommend the specific rate when
congress planned a supplementary In
vestigation of its own.
Reporta that the tariff board bad
been aplit over the report on raw wool
and its need of protection, were denied
by Mr. Emery and Mr. Sanders after
their talk with the president.
Arrest Bribery Suspects.
Los Angeles, Nov . 28.—Detectives
of the state attorney 'a office, headed
by Samuel L. Brown, chief of inveatl
gatlon, arrested three men on a Los
Angeles street corner today, charging
attempted bribery in the McNamara
murder trial. The men arrested are:
Bert Franklin, a former United
States marebal, now employed by the
McNamara defense is looking up the
antecedents of prospective jurors.
George N. Lockwood, a venireman
summoned to appear before Judge
Walter Bord well today for prelimi
nary examination.
"Cap" White, who was for many
years an under6heriff and jailer in
this county.
The men were taken first to the office
of tbe district attorney and then to
jail. Counsel for the defense aaid
they knew nothing of the case.
VISIT BIG LAND SHOW.
Western Governors Receive Welcome
At Chicago Exposition.
Chicago, Nov. 28.— Chicago housed
today the governors of a chain of
states extending from Illinois to the
Pacific coast, with the arrival front
Minneapolis and St. Paul of tbe
"Governors' Special," on the first
leg of its 4,000-mile trip undertaken to
exploit in eastern cities the agricul
tural, commercial and mining advan
tages of the northwest.
Before we end our trip many s
jobless man now shivering in the
streets of New York, Philadelphia or
Washington, will be listening to the
call of the west and many an eastern
merchant will be on more intimate
terms with the great country north
west of tbe Mississippi," said one
governor in explaining the purpose of
the mission. Five carloads of the
products of the various states are to
be displayed in the eastern cities.
Here the governors and their party,
accompanied by C. B. Brown, direc
tor of the Panama-Pacific exposition,
who represents the governor of Cali
fornia, were met by a committee of
the Chicago Association of Commerce,
Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyom
ing, Montana and Colorado were rep
resented by governors or other state
officials.
Soon after their arrival, they were
taken to see tbe carloads of potatoes,
pumpkins, apples and other products
of the soil on exhibition at Chicago's
annual land show.
Chinese In Fierce Battle.
San Francisco, Nov. 28.— Terrible
slaughter has marked tbe fighting at
Nanking, according to a cablegram
received today by the Chinese Daily
Paper here. The report says that
3,500 regular soldiers and 300 civilian
volunteers have been killed.
Dispatches received by the Chinese
Free Preas state that the imperialists
and revolutionists are fighting today
inside Nanking. The revolutionary
navy is preparing to bombard the
suburb Sbi Kwan, occupied by the
Mancbus,
Would Regulate Trusts,
W ashington , Nov . 28.— Seth Low,
president of the National Civic feder
ation, and former mayor of New York,
gave to the interstate commerce com
mission of the senate today his per
sonal views as to the best methods for
controling the trusts.
He urged the federal licensing of all
interstate corporations, giving them
permission to incorporate with a set
tled charter if they so desired.
He suggested the appointment of *
a federal commission to look after the
organization and the acts of companies
operating in more than one state.
"The tendency to combination in
trade agreements is universal." aaid
Mr. Low, "the government is under*
taking the impossible if it tries to pre
vent them."
He expressed the belief that many
trade agreements limiting output are
in the public Interest and should be
regulated rather than prohibited.
Labor Leader Is^Surprised.
New York , Dec. 1.—"I am astound
ed, I am astounded; my credulity has
been imposed upon. It is a bolt out
of a clear sky."
The exclamations were those of
Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor, when
advised tonight of the pleas of guilty
in the McNamara cases.
When tbe fund raised by the Ameri
can Federation of Labor for the de
fense of the MeNamaras was mention
ed, Mr. Gompers said contributions
to date amounted to about $190,000,
which had been turned over to the
chief attorney for the defense, and tbe
collection was still going on. He
added that the money probably would
be refunded.
Asked again if he believed today's
developments would injure the cause
of labor, tears came into Mr. Gompers
eyea aa he anawered:
"They ure not going to do it any
good. But I want to repeat that tbe
cause of labor haa been Imposed upon
by both suppoaed friends and enemies.
The labor men were led to believe
that the McNamara brothers were in
nocent, and they acted on that basis.
I read letters from them myaelf pro
testing their innocence. Only last
September I visited them in Los An
geles jail, and they asked me to de
liver to the labor interests a message
that they were innocent.
"The cause of labor cannot win by
such methods as these men pursued.
Damage to property and destruction
to life we have denounced and done
all in our power to prevent. Such
methods as these have got to be
stamped out."