St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-08-06
A TRUST IN COURT.


A case is pending before Judge Gross
cup in the Chicago federal court whose
outcome will be looked for with inter
est. and the decision in which. if It suS-
tains the position of the defense, will be
the severeSt blow yet dealt at these
combinations of manufacturers designed
to monopoliZe the trade, and commonly
known as trusts. The antitrust law has
proven TO be inefficient where it has
been put to the test of its original pur-
pose. and has only held water where it
was applied to set of conditions not at
all contemplated when it was devised.
The American Book company was
organized two or three years ago by the
practical consolidation of most of the
large publishing houses of the country.
The house of Werner Il Co., of Chicago,
book publishers. purposed bringing out
an cation of THE Teacher in Liter
ature," a book whose copyright is owned
by the American Book company. The
latter bring an action in equity to re-
strain Werner & Co. from publishing
the book. The latter in their answer
deny that the plaintiff, the American
Book company, is a legal corporation,
and aver that it is trust whose pur-
poses violate the antitrust act of 1892,
passed TO protect trade and commerce
against unlawful restraints and m0nop-
oiies. Tie answer alleges the facts
which would bring the plaintiff within
the act; names the firms that it is COM
posed of and their respective interests
in it, and the agreements and provisions
made, having for their purpose the
elimination of competition in prices or
sales, and the common defense against
competition where possible, and where
not the fixing of the prices its members
should offer.
This defense practically says that the
plaintiff comes into a court of equity
seeking the equitable powers of the
court in its behalf. 1t is a rule in
equity that he who seeks equity must
do equity; he must come into such a
court with clean hands. If the object
sought to be attained by the exercise of
the equity power of the court would
promote al unlawful purpose, then the
court will withhold its power and leave
the parties where they have placed
themselves. If the plaintiff in this
case is corporation organized for a
purpose declared by law to be unlaw-
full. then it has no standing in court
of equity. and cannot invoke Its powers
in protection of its property rights.
The matter was taken under advise
ment, the question of the sufficiency of
the defense of Warner 81 Co. having
been raised by demurrer to their ALL
swer.
The decision of Judge Grosscup is eX-
pected to be handed down today, and it
will be awaited with great interest not
alone by the parties to the suit, but by
the public who are anxious to know if
there Is any way by which the power Of
these combinations may be broken and
their further growth checked. Should
the judge hold that the plaintiff has a
cause of action of which no court on its
equity side will take jurisdiction, the
trusts and combinations will have re-
ceived death blow. If. on the other
hand, the decision is adverse to the de-
PENDANT, it will render the trusts I'M
pervious to attack and make them mas
tiers of the commercial situation.
A far more serious effect will be the
increase of that feeling of despair.
amounting in times of turbulence to
desperation, that there is no law for the
poor, but only for the rich and power
full. The danger point of the present
social condition is precisely this, that
the wage-earnerS feel that all law is on
the side of their employers and none on
theirs; that law shields the employer
and leaves to them only physical force
10 means of getting what they esteem
their right. If the law designed to pre-
veut trade combinations is only effect.
i've to punish employees whose strikes
impede commerce, the latter will ask
themselves if they indeed be free. 1t
will add fuel to a flame'that burns now
but too briskly.
If, however, it is held that a trust has
no standing in court; that it cannot use
its powers to enforce contracts or rights,
the backbone of the trusts will be
broken. If further, legislatures pass
acts declaring that it shall be sufficient
defense to any suit OH contract or to
recover a debt that the plaintiff is a
trust. organized in contrayentlon of laws
prohibiting them, and that II the evil
dence sustains the defense the plant
ifs action shall be dismissed; if all
standing in any court, for any purpose,
be denied them, and species of out
lawry be declared against them, then
the trust will disappear from sight and
one of the most tyrannous outgrowths of
paternalism will have been Topped off.