District-AttorneyStimson，ofNewYork，assistedbyDenison，Frankfurter，Wise，andotheremployeesoftheDepartmentofJustice，tookchargeofthecase，andcarriedonbothcivilandcriminalproceedings。ThetrialintheactionagainsttheSugarTrust，fortherecoveryofdutiesonthecargoofsugar，whichwasbeingsentoverthescalesatthetimeofthediscoveryofthesteelspringbyParr，wasbegunin1908；judgmentwasrenderedagainstthedefendantsonMarch5，1909，thedayafterIleftoffice。OverfourmilliondollarswererecoveredandpaidbackintotheUnitedStatesTreasurybythesugarcompanieswhichhadperpetratedthevariousformsoffraud。
ThesefraudswereunearthedbyParr，Loeb，Stimson，Frankfurter，andtheothermenmentionedandtheirassociates，anditwastothemthatthepeopleowedtherefundingofthehugesumofmoneymentioned。WehadalreadysecuredheavyfinesfromtheSugarTrust，andfromvariousbigrailways，andprivateindividuals，suchasEdwinEarle，forunlawfulrebates。Inthecaseofthechiefoffender，theAmericanSugarRefiningCompanytheSugarTrust，criminalprosecutionswerecarriedonagainsteverylivingmanwhosepositionwassuchthathewouldnaturallyknowaboutthefraud。Allofthemwereindicted，andthebiggestandmostresponsibleoneswereconvicted。Theevidenceshowedthatthepresidentofthecompany，HenryO。Havemeyer，virtuallyrantheentirecompany，andwasresponsibleforallthedetailsofthemanagement。Hediedtwoweeksafterthefraudwasdiscovered，justasproceedingswerebeingbegun。Nexttohiminimportancewasthesecretaryandtreasurer，CharlesR。Heike，whowasconvicted。VariousotherofficialsandemployeesoftheTrust，andvariousGovernmentemployees，wereindicted，andmostofthemconvicted。ErnestW。Gerbracht，thesuperintendentofoneoftherefineries，wasconvicted，buthissentencewascommutedtoashortjailimprisonment，becausehebecameaGovernmentwitnessandgreatlyassistedtheGovernmentinthesuits。
Heike’ssentencewascommutedsoastoexcusehimfromgoingtothepenitentiary；justasthepenitentiarysentenceofMorse，thebigNewYorkbanker，whowasconvictedofgrossfraudandmisapplicationoffunds，wascommuted。BothcommutationsweregrantedlongafterIleftoffice。Ineachcasethecommutationwasgrantedbecause，aswasstated，oftheprisoner’sageandstateofhealth。InMorse’scasethePresidentoriginallyrefusedtherequest，sayingthatMorsehadexhibited“fraudulentandcriminaldisregardofthetrustimposeduponhim。”that“hewasentirelyunscrupulousastothemethodsheadopted。”and“thatheseemedattimestobeabsolutelyheartlesswithregardtotheconsequencestoothers，andheshowedgreatshrewdnessinobtaininglargesumsofmoneyfromthebankwithoutadequatesecurityandwithoutmakinghimselfpersonallyliabletherefor。”ThetwocasesmaybeconsideredinconnectionwiththeannouncementinthepublicpressthatonMay17，1913，thePresidentcommutedthesentenceofLewisA。Banks，whowasservingaverylongtermpenitentiarysentenceforanattackonagirlintheIndianTerritory；“thereasonforthecommutationwhichissetforthinthepressbeingthat’Banksisinpoorhealth。’“
Itisnoeasymattertobalancetheclaimsofjusticeandmercyinsuchcases。Inthesethreecases，ofallofwhichIhadpersonalcognizance，Idisagreedradicallywiththeviewsmysuccessorstook，andwiththeviewswhichmanyrespectablementookwhointheseandsimilarcases，bothwhileIwasinofficeandafterward，urgedmetoshow，ortoaskotherstoshow，clemency。Itthenseemedtome，anditnowseemstome，thatsuchclemencyisfromthelargerstandpointagrosswrongtothemenandwomenofthecountry。
Oneoftheformerspecialassistantsofthedistrict-attorney，Mr。W。
ClevelandRunyon，incommentingbitterlyonthereleaseofHeikeandMorseonaccountoftheirhealth，pointedoutthattheirhealthapparentlybecamegoodwhenoncetheythemselvesbecamefreemen，andadded：
“Thecommutationofthesesentencesamountstoadirectinterferencewiththeadministrationofjusticebythecourts。
Heikegota$25，000salaryandhasescapedhisimprisonment，butwhataboutthesix$18aweekcheckers，whoweresenttojail，oneofthemamanofmorethansixty？Itiscaseslikethisthatcreatediscontentandanarchy。Theymakeitseemplainthatthereisonelawfortherichandanotherforthepoorman，andIforonewillprotest。”
IndealingwithHeiketheindividualorMorseoranyotherindividual，itisnecessarytoemphasizethesocialaspectsofhiscase。ThemoraloftheHeikecase，ashasbeenwellsaid，is“howeasyitisforamaninmoderncorporateorganizationtodriftintowrongdoing。”ThemoralrestraintsareloosenedinthecaseofamanlikeHeikebytheinsulationofhimselffromthesordiddetailsofcrime，throughindustriallycoercedinterveningagents。ProfessorRosshasmadethepenetratingobservationthat“distancedisinfectsdividends“；italsoweakensindividualresponsibility，particularlyonthepartoftheverymanagersoflargebusiness，whoshouldfeelitmostacutely。OneoftheofficersoftheDepartmentofJusticewhoconductedthesuit，andwhoinclinedtothesideofmercyinthematter，neverthelesswrites：“Heikeisabeautifulillustrationofmentalandmoralobscurationinthebusinesslifeofanotherwisevaluablememberofsociety。HeikehadanampleshareintheguidanceoftheaffairsoftheAmericanSugarCompany，andweareapttohaveaforeshortenedpictureofhisresponsibility，becauseheoperatedfromtheeasycoignofvantageofexecutiveremoteness。Itisdifficulttosaytowhatextenthedid，directlyorindirectly，profitbythesordidpracticesofhiscompany。Butthesocialdamageofanindividualinhispositionmaybejustasdeep，whethermerelythezestofthegameorhardcashbehisdominantmotive。”
IhavecoupledthecasesofthebigbankerandtheSugarTrustofficialandthecaseofthemanconvictedofacriminalassaultonawoman。Allofthecriminalswerereleasedfrompenitentiarysentencesongroundsofillhealth。Theoffensesweretypicaloftheworstcrimescommittedatthetwoendsofthesocialscale。Oneoffensewasacrimeofbrutalviolence；theotheroffenseswerecrimesofastutecorruption。Allofthemwereoffenseswhichinmyjudgmentwereofsuchacharacterthatclemencytowardstheoffenderworkedgraveinjusticetothecommunityasawhole，injusticesogravethatitseffectsmightbefar-reachingintheirdamage。
Everytimethatrapeorcriminalassaultonawomanispardoned，andanythinglessthanthefullpenaltyofthelawexacted，apremiumisputonthepracticeoflynchingsuchoffenders。Everytimeabigmoneyedoffender，whonaturallyexcitesinterestandsympathy，andwhohasmanyfriends，isexcusedfromservingasentencewhichamanoflessprominenceandfewerfriendswouldhavetoserve，justiceisdiscreditedintheeyesofplainpeople——andtounderminefaithinjusticeistostrikeatthefoundationoftheRepublic。Asforillhealth，itmustberememberedthatfewpeopleareashealthyinprisonastheywouldbeoutside；andthereshouldbenodiscriminationamongcriminalsonthisscore；eitherallcriminalswhogrowunhealthyshouldbeletout，ornone。Pardonsmustsometimesbegiveninorderthatthecauseofjusticemaybeserved；butincasessuchastheseI
amconsidering，whileIknowthatmanyamiablepeopledifferfromme，Iamobligedtosaythatinmyjudgmentthepardonsworkfar-reachingharmtothecauseofjustice。
Amongthebigcorporationsthemselves，evenwheretheydidwrong，therewasawidedifferenceinthemoralobliquityindicatedbythewrongdoer。TherewasawidedistinctionbetweentheoffensescommittedinthecaseoftheNorthernSecuritiesCompany，andtheoffensesbecauseofwhichtheSugarTrust，theTobaccoTrust，andtheStandardOilTrustweresuccessfullyprosecutedundermyAdministration。ItwasvitaltodestroytheNorthernSecuritiesCompany；butthemencreatingithaddonesoinopenandabove-boardfashion，actingunderwhatthey，andmostofthemembersofthebar，thoughttobethelawestablishedbytheSupremeCourtintheKnightsugarcase。ButtheSupremeCourtinitsdecreedissolvingtheStandardOilandTobaccoTrusts，condemnedthemintheseverestlanguageformoralturpitude；
andanevensevererneedofcondemnationshouldbevisitedontheSugarTrust。
However，allthetrustsandbigcorporationsagainstwhichweproceeded——whichincludedintheirdirectoratespracticallyallthebiggestfinanciersinthecountry——joinedinmakingthebitterestassaultsonmeandonmyAdministration。OftheiractionsIwroteasfollowstoAttorney-GeneralBonaparte，whohadbeenapeculiarlyclosefriendandadviserthroughtheperiodcoveredbymypubliclifeinhighofficeandwho，togetherwithAttorney-GeneralMoody，possessedthesameunderstandingsympathywithmysocialandindustrialprogramthatwaspossessedbysuchofficialsasStraus，Garfield，H。K。Smith，andPinchot。Theletterruns：
January2，1908。
MydearBonaparte：
ImustcongratulateyouonyouradmirablespeechatChicago。Yousaidtheverythingsitwasgoodtosayatthistime。Whatyousaidboreespecialweightbecauseitrepresentedwhatyouhaddone。Youhaveshownbywhatyouhaveactuallyaccomplishedthatthelawisenforcedagainstthewealthiestcorporation，andtherichestandmostpowerfulmanagerormanipulatorofthatcorporation，justasresolutelyandfearlesslyasagainstthehumblestcitizen。TheDepartmentofJusticeisnowinveryfacttheDepartmentofJustice，andjusticeismetedoutwithanevenhandtogreatandsmall，richandpoor，weakandstrong。ThosewhohavedenouncedyouandtheactionoftheDepartmentofJusticeareeithermisled，orelsearetheverywrongdoers，andtheagentsoftheverywrongdoers，whohaveforsomanyyearsgonescot-freeandfloutedthelawswithimpunity。Aboveall，youaretobecongratulateduponthebitternessfeltandexpressedtowardsyoubytherepresentativesandagentsofthegreatlaw-defyingcorporationsofimmensewealth，who，untilwithinthelasthalf-
dozenyears，havetreatedthemselvesandhaveexpectedotherstotreatthemasbeingbeyondandaboveallpossiblecheckfromlaw。
Itwastimetosaysomething，fortherepresentativesofpredatorywealth，ofwealthaccumulatedonagiantscalebyiniquity，bywrongdoinginmanyforms，byplainswindling，byoppressingwage-
workers，bymanipulatingsecurities，byunfairandunwholesomecompetitionandbystock-jobbing，——inshort，byconductabhorrenttoeverymanofordinarilydecentconscience，haveduringthelastfewmonthsmadeitevidentthattheyarebandedtogethertoworkforareaction，toendeavortooverthrowanddiscreditallwhohonestlyadministerthelaw，andtosecureareturntothedayswheneveryunscrupulouswrongdoercoulddowhathewishedunchecked，providedhehadenoughmoney。Theyattackyoubecausetheyknowyourhonestyandfearlessness，anddreadthem。Theenormoussumsofmoneythesemenhaveattheircontrolenablethemtocarryonaneffectivecampaign。Theyfindtheirtoolsinaportionofthepublicpress，includingespeciallycertainofthegreatNewYorknewspapers。Theyfindtheiragentsinsomemeninpubliclife，——nowandthenoccupying，orhavingoccupied，positionsashighasSenatororGovernor，——insomemeninthepulpit，andmostmelancholyofall，inafewmenonthebench。Bygiftstocollegesanduniversitiestheyareoccasionallyabletosubsidizeintheirowninterestsomeheadofaneducationalbody，who，saveonlyajudge，shouldofallmenbemostcarefultokeephisskirtsclearfromthetaintofsuchcorruption。ThereareamplematerialrewardsforthosewhoservewithfidelitytheMammonofunrighteousness，buttheyaredearlypaidforbythatinstitutionoflearningwhosehead，byexampleandprecept，teachesthescholarswhositunderhimthatthereisonelawfortherichandanotherforthepoor。TheamountofmoneytherepresentativesofthegreatmoneyedinterestsarewillingtospendcanbegaugedbytheirrecentpublicationbroadcastthroughoutthepapersofthiscountryfromtheAtlantictothePacificofhugeadvertisements，attackingwithenvenomedbitternesstheAdministration’spolicyofwarringagainstsuccessfuldishonesty，advertisementsthatmusthavecostenormoussumsofmoney。Thisadvertisement，asalsoapamphletcalled“TheRooseveltPanic。”andoneortwosimilarbooksandpamphlets，arewrittenespeciallyintheinterestoftheStandardOilandHarrimancombinations，butalsodefendalltheindividualsandcorporationsofgreatwealththathavebeenguiltyofwrongdoing。