Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 20.pdf/238

 PHILANDER CHASE KNOX did not exhaust the power of Congress, and secret rates, rebates and all unjust discrimi that a constitutional amendment was not nations in railway service strengthened, necessary in order to meet and correct was due largely to the initiative of Attorney existing evils. The speech denned the General Knox, called forth by specific requests important cases then pending under the for suggestions from the Judiciary Commit trust and commerce laws in all of which tees of the Senate and House of Represent the Government was successful, that is, atives, an unusual mark of honor and the first group of railroad injunction suits confidence. The criminal sanctions of one to destroy the monopoly produced by secret of these laws (the Elkins act) were recently and preferential rates, the traffic pool in sustained by the Supreme Court and a still cotton on southern railroads, the beef more recent decision of the court upholds trust cases involving a conspiracy to fix those substantive provisions of that act and maintain extortionate prices for meats, which forbid receiving as well as giving and the case of the Northern Securities rebates. These activities of Mr. Knox, professional, Company, being the well known combination organized to merge the control of parallel and in the way of constructive statesman and competing lines of railway and eliminate ship, which I have thus barely outlined, competition. When that case reached the were publicly reviewed by the President Supreme Court Mr. Knox argued it in and by Mr. Knox's distinguished colleagues person and alone. His brief and his in the Cabinet, Mr. Root, and his successor printed argument were very able documents as Attorney General, Mr. Moody, now and he presented the case against an array Justice Moody of the Supreme Court. The of eminent counsel with convincing force President said at Pittsburgh in the summer and clearness. The court sustained his of 1902: contentions and held that Congress in the "We need common-sense and honesty and anti-trust law prescribed the rule for inter resolute courage. We need what Mr. Knox state and international commerce, that it has shown, — a character that will refuse should not be vexed by combinations, to be hurried into any unwise or precipitate conspiracies, or monopolies which restrain movement by any clamor, whether hyster commerce or destroy or restrict competition, ical or demagogic, and on the other hand, that without indicating how far Congress the character that will refuse to be frightened may go in this direction in the exercise of out of a movement which he thinks it right the wide discretion possessed as to the to undertake by any pressure, still less by means employed to execute a granted any threat, express or implied. . . . power, the power had not been exceeded We need honest and fearless administration in enacting this statute; that if the anti of the laws as they are on the statute book, trust act is held not to embrace that case, honest and fearless administration of those the plain intention of the legislature will laws in the interest neither of the rich man be defeated. In thus determining that as such nor of the poor man as such but in the particular device there adopted was a the interest if exact and equal justice to all violation of the law, the court struck an alike, rich and poor, and such administra tion you will surely have while Mr. Knox effective blow against all forms of combina tion and consolidation among railways to remains as Attorney General in the Cabinet at Washington." destroy or limit competition. The legislation of 1903, by which the And again at Harrisburg in the fall of interstate commerce laws were amended, 1906 the President said: "During the last few years the national the jurisdiction of the Commission and the courts enlarged, and the statutes against Government has taken very long strides in