The Green Bag
52
Suit has been filed in the United States Circuit Court at St. Louis, to prevent the consolidation of the United States Telephone Comgaiiily with the Bell Tele hone system. The e companies are accuse of attempting to build a monopoly by absorbing independent companies. The purchase of a substantial minority of stock in the Western Union Teleira h Com any by the American Tele grap Telep one Company may have a conse uences leadin to some significant legal gevelo ments. e federal government has since ay, 1908, been investigating the telegraph and telephone companies in accord ance with a resolution adopted by the United States Senate. A joint le 'slative committee appointed in New York tate to investigate t e same business be an its work Dec. 1, the same day on whi the New York Tele phone Compan, a subsidiary of the American elephone & ele raph Company, cut its suburban rates. be American or "Bell" company had bought the interest of the Western Union in the New York Company, and as the largest individual shareholders in the Bell company control the Postal Tele
Commerce and Labor, particularly by the Bureau of Immigration, and amendments of the immigration act itself are submitted by the commission. Another recommendation was that the transportation of persons from one state, territory or district to another for the purpose of prostitution be forbidden under heavy penalties. The Commission also ex ressed the opinion that the Legisla tures o the several states should consider the advisability of enacting more stringent laws regarding rostitution. It was sug ested that the I nois statute regarding pan ering be carefully considered. Lord Morley's plan for the reform in the British administration of India went into effect November 15. All religious and special interests ma elect representatives to the viceroys an provincial councils, but the imperial and rovincial governments may declare ineligiblg those persons whose election is considered contrary to public interests. The viceroy's council in the future will have 370 members instead of 126. The functions of the council will be considerably enlarged.
graph Company, those who believe in com
petition in this business may feel a grieved and prosecutions for violation of the her-man anti-trust law may even be undertaken. In Missouri Attorney-General Major has asked for a special examiner to take testimony with regard to the alle ed me er of the Bell company and the estern nion. The independent companies, which are more numerous in the West than in the East, would of course be pleased by any measures to break up a monopoly.
The second session of the eleventh Parlia ment of Canada opened November 11 with the reading of the speech from the throne by the Governor-General, Earl Gre .
The
s eech reafiirrned the position ta on by t e joint resolution adopted last session regarding naval defense, which enunciates the necessity for Canada's undertaking a share in the empire's naval defense. Regard ing tariff changes the speech was non-com
mittal. Indications are that the naval policy
Important Legislation Alabamans defeated a prohibition amend ment to the state constitution Novem ber 29, by a majority estimated at from 12,000 to 20,000 votes.
will be the princi a1 subject of discussion this session. Ot er important measures will include a bill to ratify the Franco Canadian commercial treaty, a bill respecting trade combinations which unduly enhance prices, and a bill to authorize the ex ansion of the Government railway (Interco onial) by acquiring branch lines.
The second session of the 61st Congress of the United States opened December 6. The business of the first day included the presentation of three bills providing for an investigation of the sugar frauds, of one
introduced by Representative Mann of Illinois to check the "white slave" trafiic, one for
the establishment of order in Nicaragua, one for postal savin 5 banks, and one granting statehood to New fivlexico and Arizona. The Immigration Commission issued a report December 10 covering the “white slave trafiic," the inquiry covering the cities of New York, Chica 0, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Salt La e City, 0 den, Butte, Denver, Buffalo, Boston and ew Orleans.
Pcrsonal— The Bench Chief fJustice W. A. Johnston of the Supreme Court 0 Kansas was given a dinner recently in honor of his rounding out a quarter cen tury on that bench. Chief Justice W. J. Mills of the New Mexico Supreme Court was appointed Governor of the territory, November 24, to succeed George Curry, resigned. Democrats representing sixteen counties nominated Judge Warren E. Settle of Bowling
Green,
Ky.,
November
11,
to
The Commission believes the evidence war rants the report being used as a basis for legislative and administrative action. A number of suggestions of administrative
succeed himself as jud e in the second appel late district of Kentuciy.
changes and more rigid enforcement of ex isting regulations by the Department of
in
Jud e Willis Brown of the Juvenile Court Sat
Lake
City,
Utah,
a
well-known
authority on juvenile court laws, gave a
