The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-20
CONTRACT CLAUSE, HELD VOID
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Is DECLAR-
ED A MONOPOLY.

Illinois Supreme Court Says 1t Cam
not Restrict Its Members From
Getting News From other Sources
which Are Competitive-Decisi
Rendered in the Case of Inter
Ocean Publishing Company
Against the Associated Press.
Springfield, H., Feb. 19.--ln the appeal
of the Inter-Ocean Publishing Company
against the Associated Press the Supreme
Court to-day rendered an opinion revers-
ing the decree entered by the Cook coun-
ty Circuit Court and the Appellate Court
\ for the First district, and remanding the
cause to the Circuit Court with direc-
lions to enter a decree as prayed for in
the original bill filed by the Inter Ocean
Publishing Company, to restrain the AS
sociated Press from suspending or ex-
pelling the petitioner from its member
ship and from refusing to furnish it news
according to it's contract.
This bill sets up the fact that the AS
ISOLATED Press has been able to control
the business of buying and accumulat-
ing news in Chicago and selling the same
ana had thus created forsitself an exclu-
sive monopoly ana to preserve such mon
opoly had declared the sun Printing and
Publishing Associations "a gqrival or. com
petitor in business and antagonistic to it,
and sought to prohibit its members from
buying news therefrom under pain of sus-
pension or expulsion. - -a..e...
III was also alleged that the appellee had
compelled some Of its members by threats,
| to cease buying the speciai news of the
Sun Printing and Publishing Association
under its contracts with its members, in
Guiding the appellant The appellee filed
an answer to the bill and a hearing was
had, the Circuit Court dlsmissing the bill
for want of equity and on appeal to the
| Appellate Court this decree was affirmed.
| The Supreme Court now reverses the de-
cree and remands the cause.
| The opinion, written by Justice Phil
| lips, holds that the manner in which the
| corporation has used its franchise has
| charged its business With, a pbbfie inter-
| est. 1t has devoted its property to a pub
| lie use and has in effect granted to the
| public such an interest," in ats use that ii
| must submit to be controlled by the pub
| lie for the common good to the extent
| of the interest it has thus, created in the
| pubic in its private property. The sole
| purpose for which news was gathered was
| that the same should be sold and all
newspaper publishers desiring to purchase
| such news fee publication are entitled to
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 the appellee
is an attempt at restriction on the trade
| and business among the citizens of COM
mon country Competition can never be
held hostile to public interests and efforts
to prevent competition by contract or
otherwise can never be looked upon with
favor by the courts.
1.-THE court finds that the bylaw Of
the appellee corporation which seeks to
prevent its members from publishing spe-
cial or other news, or receiving such news
from any other person declared it by
hostile, is not required for corporate pur-
poses nor included within the purposes CT
the creation of the corporation. To IN
force this bylaw and contracts made UNI
der il would enable the appellee to desig-
nate the character of news to be published
and whether true or false there could be
no check on ii by publishing news from
other sources. Appellee would be power
full in the creation of a monopoly in its
favor and could dictate the character of
news it would furnish and could prejudice
the interests of the public. Such power
was never contemplated in its creation and
is hostile to public interests. The clear
effect of this bylaw Is to create a nonop-
oily which renders it void"