The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1900-02-20
COMPETITION an NEWS SERVICE.
4 Meoted Qnestien Dreided By the supreme
Court ef Illinois.

Springfield. III. Feb. fs-In the aprsal
Of the Inter Oeean Publishing Company
against the Associated Press the supreme
Court to-day rendered an opinion revsrs-
ing the decree entered hy the Cook County
Circuit Court and the Appellate Court
for the First district and remanding the
caure to the Circuit Court. 9Th directions
TO enter decree. as prayed for In the
original bill filed by the Inter Ocean Pub
fishing Company, 70 restrain the Asso-
ciated Press from suspending or expeliing
the petitioner from its membership ard
from refusing to furnish IL news accord
ing TO its contract
This bin set up the fact that the As
ISOLATED Press had been able TO control
the business Of buying ana accommodating
news in Chicago and selling the same. ard
had thus created for Itself an exclusive
monopoly, and 20 preserve such monopoly
had declared the sun Printing and Pub
fishing Association a rival or competitor
In business and antagonistic TO IL and
sought to prohibit it's members from by
ing news therefrom under pain OF SusEea-
sion or expulsion. II was also alleged
that the appellee had compelled some OF
Its members by threats to cease buying
the special news OF the Sun Printing end
Publishing Association under its contracts
with its members. including the appel
LIANT The appellee filed an answer to the
bill. and a hearing was had, the Circuit
Court dismissing the bill for want OF
equity. and on appeal TO the Appellate
Court this decree was affirmed The Su-
preme Court now reverses this decree and
remands the cause.
The opinion. written by Justice Phillips,
holds that the manner in which the cor
poration has used its franchise has
charged its business with a public inter
est. 1t has devoted its property to
public use, and has in effect granted 10
the public such an interest In its use that
il must submit to be controlled by the
public for the common good to the extent
of the interest it has thus created in the
public In its private property. The sole
purposes for which news was gathered
was that the same should be sold, and all
newspaper publishers desiring to purchase
such news for publication are entitled 10
purchase the same without discrimination
against them.
The clause Of the contract which sought
to restrict the appellant from obtaining
news from other sources than from ap-
peilee is an attempt at restriction upon
the trade and business among the citi-
zens of a common country. Competition
can never be held hostile TO pubiic inter
est, and efforts 10 prevent competition by
contract or otherwise can never be look
ed upon with favor by the courts
The court finds that Jheby-laN OF the
appellee corporation, which seeks to pre-
vent its members from publishing is
special or other news or recelginng such
news from any person declared oy 1t hos
tile, is not required for corporate Puf-
poses. nor included within the purposes
of the creation of the corporation. To
enforce this bylaw and contracts made
under il would enable the appellee to
designate the character OF news to be
published, or whether true or false. There
could be no check on it by publishing
news from other sources. Appellee would
be powerful in the creation of 2 monopoly
In its favor, and could dictate tie chdrdc-
ter of news it would furnish, and could
prejudice the interests of the public. Such
q power was never contemplated in its
creation and is hostile TO public interests.
| The clear effect of this bylaw is 10 create
a monopoly, which renders it void.