The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-10-25

prevail among the managers, and while hav-
ing no agreement and entering into no COM
Dination by which the whole railroad interest,
as herein represented, should act as one COM
bined and consolidated BODY the managers Of
each road might yet make such reasonable
charges for the business done for 1t as the
facts might Justify. An agreement OF the ma
ture OF this one, which directly and effectu-
any stlnes competition, must be regarded I'M
der the statute as In restraint Of trade not
withstanding there are possibilities that re-
stralnt or trade may also follow competition
That may be INDUCED in until the weaker
roads are completely destroyed and the sur
VlVor thereafter raises rates and maintains
them. Coming to the conclusion we do in re-
gard 10 the various questions herein discuss
ed we think 1t unnecessary to further allude
to the other reasons which have been ad-
vanced for a revision of the trans Missouri
case.
The judgments of the lower courts favor
able to the Joint Traffic association, are re-
Versed and the case remanded to the circuit
court of the United States for the Southern
district OF New York. with directions to take
such further proceedings therein as may be
IN conformity with this opinion.
The opinion, which was very brief,
was concurred in by ChiefNJustice Full
er and Justices Harlan, Brewer, Brown
and Peckham. Four justices dissented,
namely. Justices Field Gray, Shiras
and White. Justice McKenna took no
part in the case, as the prosecution OF
the Joint Traffic association was be,
gun while he was attorney general
After Justice Peckham had announced
the opinion, Justice Harlan verbally ex-
pressed with some evidences Of salts.
ract1on his concurrence, on the same
ground he said, as that set forth in
the Trans Missouri case.
NO dissenting opinion was filed, it be-
Ing merely announced that the Judges
named dissented.
RELATED OPINIONS.
By coincidence two other opinions
relating to the anti trust law were
handed down today by Justice Peck
ham. In the case of the United States
against Henry Hopkins and others the
government sought to restrain the
Kansas City Live Stock EXCHANGE
from carrying on it's business, on tho
ground that it was an association in
restraint of trade, and therefore illegal
under the antitrust law. The asso-
cation is carried on at the Kansas City
stock yards, partly in Kansas and part,
ly IN Missouri. It's members receive
shipments of cattle from Nebraska,
Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa,
Texas and the territories, selling Them
TO the big packing houses, particularly
K.
The lower court ruled against the ex.
change on the ground that it was a
combination in restraint of trade.
Justice Peckham's opinion, in which all
the court except Justice Harlan con-
CURED, reverses the lower court and
upholds the legality of the association.
The opinion states that the Kansas
CITY exchange IS merely a local mar,
ket for interstate shipments, and that
40
change. Because the cattle comes from.
various states it does not follow. tina
opinion states, that all persons per-
FORMING any service connected with it
are engaged in an interstate associa-
ton. 1t is pointed out that a person
receiving shipments from another state
does not thereby engage in Interstate
commerce. The opinion says:
We think that 1t would be an entirely
novel view of the case If all stock exchanges
throughout the country were to be cCnstd-
cred interstate associations, because they sell
gOoos from states different to where the ex-
change is located.
The other was the United States
against J. S. Anderson and others in
volving Kansas City, as it is known as
the Traders Live Stock exchange. In
this case, as in the other, the court
ul'hClds the association upon the
ground that it Is purely local and not
engaged in interstate traffic within the
meaning of the antitrust law.
BRANDED AS A RING.
Justice Harlan announced his dis
sent from the opinion of the court in
these two cases. After quoting the
antitrust law, Justice Harlan said he
could rot resist the conclusion that at
Kansas City there existed a ring. or
ton, the palpable effect being to bring
to itself all the live stock business.
centerlng 1T and then transferring it
East. Under this association the entire
live stock business Of the West was
to come into its hands, or else 1t was
kept cut of the market. He quoted
an appropriate opinion Of the lower
court to the effect that outside parties
attempting to enter the live stock field
were compelled to abandon the under
taking. 1t appeared from the testimony
that any person or partnership at
tempting to carry on business indie
pendent Of the association was invited
to apply for membership, and if he
failed to do so his name was black
listed. This admOnitiOn was strictly
obeyed, and such person was boycotted.
The outcome was inevitable, the COM
bined obligations of 800 men could pro-
duce but one result. The plain purpose
Of the exchange, Justice Harlan said,
was to control and monopolize the en-
tire business of selling live stock at
the Kansas City live stock yards. If
| this combination did not rest upon the
principle Of a boycott, then Justice
Harlan said he was unable to grasp
the principle Of a boycott. Let it be
supposed that there were combinations
OF this kind in oil, in sugar, in salt, in
lumber, in coal. and the other great
staples, then the whole business Of the
country would fall into the hands of
a few rings and syndicates, which
would control all the business of the
country. Justice Harlan said that If
this particular combination was not
one in restraint Of trade, then it was
impossible to find one.