The copper country evening news., 1898-02-15

ID the Judgment IL Reversed-Ths
r.,s, Restrains Trade, Raises Prices Un-
s,,rly and Interferes with Commerce.
c,rcinnati. Feb. 15.-The United
c,otes circuit court of appeals for the
c,v,b circuit decided the cast iron pipe
,rust case. Justice Harlan and Circuit
Iudges Taft and Lurton composed the
oourt Judge Taft delivered the opin-
,or The suit was begun in the United
c,otes circuit court at Chattanooga by
hill in equity filed by the attorney
uoreral of the United States against
s,v cast iron pipe companies-the Ad-
avstone company of Cincinnati. Dennis.
long g. Co. of Louisville. Chattanooga
pine works of Chattanooga, the South
pittsburg Pipe works of South Pitts
burg. Tenn; the Admission Pipe works
of Annston, Ala, and the Howard
Harrison company of Bessemer, Ala,
40 enioin them from continuing to do
business under contract of association
! which the bill charged, was a viola
tion of the federal antitrust act of
1901 because Ii was in restraint of in
terstate trade in cast iron pipe and an
attempted monopoly of the same. The
clrcuit court dismissed the bill and the
United States appealed.
aFree" and Pay" Territory.
By the contract the defendants di-
vided the country into free" and pay"
territory. Free territory embraced New
York, Pennsylvania and Virginia, and
all states north and east OF them; pay
territory embraced the rest of the Unit
ed States. In free territory the asso-
ciates were permitted to sell pipe at
any price they saw fit. All orders re-
ceived from pay territory had to be
submitted to a central board, which
fixed the price, and then assigned the
lob TO the one of the associates which
would agree to pay to the others the
highest bonus. Certain large cities were
reserved to particular members and on
orders received from them the price and
bonus were both fixed by the board.
!. Though the aggregate tonnage capacity
Of the associates was only 80 per cent.
OF the total tonnage capacity of all the
mills in the country, 1t was over go per
cent of the tonnage capacity of COM
petng mills in pay territory. BY the
custom Of the trade all contracts were
made to include delivery by the seller
at the home of the buyer.
What Court OF Appeals Held.
The court OF appeals held: 1. That
the contract of association. even If the
prices fixed under it were reasonable
and its only purpose was to prevent
ruinous competition, as claimed by de-
fendants, was nevertheless void at
common law, because in restraint of
trade and an attempted monopoly. q.
!. That the prices were not reasonable
and the purpose was attempted monop-
oily. 3. That the trade restrained by
the contract of association was the ne
gotiation and sale of pipe to be deliv-
cred across state lines from the state
OF manufacture to the state of sale,
and that this was, under all the de-
esions of the supreme court, interstate
comerce. A. AS a conclusion from these
premises that the contract of associa-
ton was restraint and burden on
Interstate commerce and a violation of
the federal antitrust act and should
be enjoined
Fhe Sugar Trust Case.
The court distinguished their case
y from the sugar trust case on the
ground that the contract sought to be
en1oned under the federal antitrust
act In that case was a conract of asso-
cation for the manufacture of sugar,
and did not involve, as the contract
IN this case did, the restraint of sales
OF merchandise to be delivered across
state lines. The judgment of the cir
cult court OF appeals reversed the de-
cree OF the circuit court and instructed
.hat court to enter decree enjoining
.ne six defendants from continuing to
10 business under contract OF associa-
uon or from in any way maintaining
the same.