The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-04-16
ANTITRUST LAW TEST.
The Sherman Act to Come Before the
Supreme Court.
ADHESION CASE INVOLVES ALL POINTS.
tpon II. Decision in the Highest
Court Depends the Future OF
All other Trusts.

that the Sherman anti trrst law may be
tested in few days by case that viii
show conclusively that II is either good
for something or nothing. The case Is
that of the Addyston Pipe company Of
Cincinnati. There is no specific daso Fixed
as yet for the hearing OF the case, but IT
will probably be argued about the 10th Of
this month. The decision by the Supreme
court will have direct bearing and may
be material in shaping tho future policy
of the government in its dealing with
trusts. Conflicting decisions have been
made in the courts below, the circuit court
holding that the Addyston corporation was
not an infringement OF the antitrust law,
and the United States court of appeals
Judge Taft rendering tho opinionD re-
versing that decision and ordering the
dissolution OF the trust
1t is maintained by the prosecution that
the Addyston company. which manufac-
lures more than one-half of all the cast
iron pipe made in the United States. comes
clearly within the scope OF the Sherman
law because it's product is sold In several
States, and thus becomes Interstate COM
merce. Hitherto the supreme court mas
upheld the provisions OF the sherman anti
trust law whenever an issue could be dis
tinctly presented. All Of the essential
questions embodied In the sherman law
have not appeared in any one case be-
fore. however. and the Addyston case is
regarded as the first fair test of the extent
lof the governments jurisdiction. i'rac-
tically the same principles involved tb ere
affect az least three fourtlB of the Indus
trial trusts OF the country and it is eX-
nor cd
lof tho court will furnish an explicit
groundwork for future prosecutions by the
government, The most important couten-
ton of the prosecution in the Addyston
case Is that. unlike many of the other
trusts It is not an absorption of mum
Der OF smaller concerns for the purpose
of forming ono large corporation In
which production is centralized. The Ad-
dyston company II Is held is clearly an
association of individual producers for tine
purpose OF controlling the market and
| limiting production. In support OF this
It is cited that the Addyston company di-
vides the country into blocks of territory
and apportions among them the sale OF
I pipe by the various constituent concerns.
All the clements belonging to the Ad
| dyston case are to be found in no single
case which has been before the Supreme
court since the Sherman law was passed.
Contrary to popular superstition tho sugar
| trust case-or the Knight case, as u Is
! Called-was In no sense fair test of the
] application OF the law. This was the hrst
case brought under the Sherman ACT.
Whether the suit agains: the trust was
brought by agreement or not does not
matter for the purposes of this review. II
| is a fact that II was brought UP prena-
| turely, for, when the suit was instituted
| the small refinery mad been just admitted
10 the sugar refining trust. and II was
| found impossible for the prosecution to
81 hat nf hA of k, III
| refinery had entered into interstate com
! merce-that Is 1t could not be shown that
/ any OF the product had been sold outside
| of the State of Pennsylvania, the refinery
In question being located in hiladeiphia.
( In consequence the court was Obliged to
hold that the trust NJ not Interfere with
Interstate commerce. and in that sense It
was not In violation Of the Sherman anti
trust law. The second case of Importance
! brought under the Sherman law was that
of the Transmissouri Freight association,
/ The cause was tried in the United States
circuit court Of Nebraska and the freight
1 association was compelled to dissolve
| Practically the same questions We're in
! volved in the case OF the Joint Traffic as
ISOLATION, save that this combination was
/ operative east OF tho Mississippi river IN
/ the Kansas City stocltyards case the law
could not be stretched to apply because
It was shown the stockyards was practical
/ ~ the same as board of trade, cham
Der of commerce or a stock exchange
1t will be seen that where an issue UNI
der the sherman law has been fairly pre-
/ scented the Supreme court has upheld its
provisions. The sugar case being prema-
turely brought. did not afford an oppor-
J tunity for testing the right of the trust
70 combine and manufacture product for
iindiscriminate sale in Several States. Had
the prosecution waited until some OF The
/ product of the Knight refinery reached a
4 kNf I'm ntb
yania, II might have been possible to OBJ
tain an entirely different ruling from the
/ court, 50 far as lis application to the con-
j ttnuance of the trust was concerned. The
! trairic associations, being shown to be in
/ restraint OF trade affected by the inter-
I state commerce laws were dissolved by
the Supreme court the ruling of q lower
court in one case being overturned In
I order to reach that end The stockyards
case, as has been explained was not q
TEST OF tho essential application OF the
/ law at all. In the Addyston case. how
ever, all the material features OF the Sher-
man law will be clearly outlined. and Cor
the first time the Supreme court will have
( a chance TO define distinctly the jurisdic-
! ton ct the government and the authority
the antitrust law confers upon the de-
pertment TO bring prosecutions against
| In this case the prosecution has asked
that NIL pipe manufactured by constituent
members OF the trust and sold and trans-
ported from one State to another. ho fer
teited to the United States and be seized
ard oonfscated IN the manner provided
by law and that a decrse he entered dis
solving the trust as unlawful and perpet-
ialN enicinipf Il from operation II Ia
this petition that was sustained by the
united states court OF appeals fer lhn
sixth district Judge TAFT presiding. II
tho SUPREME court upholds this action the
way will be opened for the prosecution of
laree numbers of other Industrial trusts
notwithstanding the recent pronuneia-
mento OF the attorney general OF The
United States, This administration will
then have to either fish or cut bait