Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1875-10-20

or many, may hiss an actor, but il the
conspire 10 do it they may be punishe
(per Gibson, c. j., Hood vs.. Palm,
Barr 23S l Russell on Grimes, 556
: and an action for conspiracy to dc
fame will be supported, though tn
words be not actionable f spoken b,
. one. Hood vs.. Palm, supra) Deiana
ton by the outcry of numbers, say
Gibson, G. j., is as resistless as q dc
iamation by the written act of an indi
vidual. And, says Coulter, j., th,
concentrated energy Of several com
bined wills, operating simultaneously
and BY concert upon one individual, Il
dangerous even to the cautious ant
circumspect, but when brought to beal
upon the unwary and inspecting il i,
fatal. (Twitchell VS.. Commonwealth
Q Barr, 211) There is potency il
numbers when combined which the
law cannot overlook where injury il
the consequence Ifthe conspiracy be
to commit crime or an unlawful act
it is easy to determine its indictable
character 1t is more difficult when
the act to be done or purpose to be ac-
complished is innocent in itself; then
the offense takes its hue from the mo-
tiyes, the means or the consequences.
II the motives of the confederates be
to oppress, the means they use unlaw-
ful, or the consequence to others injuri-
Gus, their confederation will become q
conspiracy. Instances are given in the
Commonwealth vs.. Carlisle (Brightly's
Rep. 40). Among those mentioned as
criminal is combination of employers
to depress the wages of journeymen
below what they would be if there
were no resort to artificial means and
a combination Of the bakers of town
to hold up the article OF bread, and by
means Of the scarcity thus produced
to extort an exorbitant price for ii.
The latter instance is precisely parallel
with the present case. II is the effect
of the act upon the public which gives
that case and this its evil aspect as the
result of confederation for any baker
might choose to hold up his own bread,
or coal operator his coal, rather than
to sell at ruling prices, but when he de-
stroys competition by combination
with others, the public can buy of no
one. In Rex VS.. Bcrenquetal @ NJ. s.
SO, it was held to be conspiracy to
combine to raise the public funds on
particular day by false rumor. The
purpose itself, said Lord Ellenborough,
is mischevious. II strikes at the price
of a valuable commodity in the market,
and if II gives fictitious price by
means Of false rumors il is q fraud
leveled against the public, for it is
against all such as may possibly have
anything TO do with the funds on that
particular day. Every corner, in the
language of the day, whether il be TO
affect the price OF articles of commerce,
such as breadstuffs, or the price of
vendible stocks, when accomplished by
confederation TO raise or depress the
price and operate on the markets, is q
conspiracy. The ruin often spread
abroad by those heartless conspiIacies
is indescribable, frequently filling the
land with starvation, poverty and woe.
Every ASSOCIATION is criminal whose
object is to raise or dopress the price
Of labor beyond what it would bring
If il were left without artificial aid or
stimulus Rex vs.. Byerdyke, ] NJ. and
s., 179). In the case of such associa-
tions the illegality consists most fire.
quently in the means employed TO
carry out the object. TO fix standard
of prices among men in the same en-
ployment, as fee bill, is not in itself
criminal, but may become so when the
parties resort to coercion, restraint or
penalties upon the employed or en-
ployers, or, what is worse, to force of
arms, if the means be unlawful the
combination is indlctablc. Common
wealth VS.. Hunt, Metc., Ill. A con-
spiracy of journeymen of any trade or
handicraft to raise the wages by cntof.
ing into combinations TO coercc jour
neymen and master workmenc employed
in the same branch of industry to con-
form to rules adopted by such combina-
ton, for the purpose OF regulating the
INTO affect bv ovort acis p ;nd;otable
as n misdemcanor. @, Wharf C. H.,
citing The People VS.. Fishbec, ii
Won3 on without multinlving ex.
amnles these are sufficient 70 illustrate
the true aspcct Of the casc before us
and 10 show that n combination sucb
as these comnanies entered into 10 con.
trol Tho sunnlv and nrice ot the Rloss.
hrro and Rarclay roi,;ons "a ;lI.oajnnd
the eontraet tberefore void
: You see therefore that anv agree.
ment combinatien or confederation 10
;ncrease or denress tho nrices of anv
vend;hle commodity whether labor
or ANYTHING else il in
dictable ms n conspiracy undcr the laws
of pennsvlvania Each individual has
the unidentified rigbt 10 demand what.
ever nrice he nle9ses for his labor or
even tbouch il be twice or
thrice iis market val9e but Il he enters
into n Combination with others TO com.
mel the employer or purchaser TO nav
ibe nrico Tins demanded by DESTROYING
tho combination becomes
an indic,able ofIense So with the en-.
nlovers whether coal operators or
others IL thew enter into n combination
to reduce the price of labor Il is
n conspiracv and indictable in the
Corrta Fach ;pd,v;dnal NAV detar.