Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-12
COURTS AND COMBINATIONS.

The termination of the receivershlp in the
case of the Sugar Trust, on Saturday, and
the announcement that the organization of
that concern will now proceed without any
obstacle, adds another prominent case to the
long list where great masses of capital have
come into collision with the law without
serious damage to the combinations.
The Sugar Trust was declared to be illegal
BY the courts of New York on account of its
illegal purpose, OF sitting competition and
erecting monopoly. 1t was not so much
the peculiar form of the organization that
was denounced by the courts-altnough that
WAS recognized as abnormal and irrespon-
sible-as the utter illegality ofits aims. In
the Chicago Gas Trust case the use of the
corporate form of organization to attain the
same illegal purpose was declared to be
no less at variance with public policy. But
in the teeth of these decisions the Sugar Trust
proceeded to reorganization, under one OF
these charters which it is the function Of
New Jersey legislation to furnish to the
monopolistie combinations of the country.
1t was proceeding with this work, avowedly
for the purpose of evading the decision of
the courts and maintaining its illegal pur-
pose, when on a question of minor litigation
a receivership was constituted. The two out
of three receivers who did not belong to the
trust had just prepared to submit a report
showing the books of the concern to be with
held from them and disclosing an altogether
extraordinary state of things, when the
Court suddenly makes lightning change,
discharges the receivers, and it is now an
nounced that there Will be no more interfer-
ence from the legal authorities, who, it
seems, have fully desisted from their rash
attempt to make an organization with S50,-
600, 600 respect the Law.
Here we have signal illustration of the
respective validity Of legal dicta and cor
porate policy. In the first place the de-
cision of the New York Court of Appeals
placed the Sugar Trust in the condition of
an organization without legal right to ex-
list or do anything. All the acts constitu-
ting it were null and void by reason of their
illegal intent Yet this unwarranted Or
ganization continued to do business and
was preparing to exercise the power which
requires full authority, of recognizing itself
into corporation for the express purpose of
maintaining its illegal character. Next,
the receivership is appointed, and the trust
displays its superiority to the law BY re-
fusing to surrender its accounts to the ma
jority of the receivers. When the receivers
are ready to report this, and some other re-
markable facts, the court obligingly pre-
vents any such inconvenient disclosure by
dismissing the whole business and permit
ting the trust to pursue its own policy at
its own sweet will.
The radical reduction in the sugar duties,
which goes into effect on April 1. will very
much restrict the power of the trust to i'm
pose arbitrary prices on the public. But in
view of the above facts it becomes an inter-
esting question. how many millions it takes
to render a combination superior to the
principles of law and the judgments of the
nnurfs