The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1902-03-19
ANTITRUST LAWS KILLED
The Supreme Court Holds That
Exemption of Farm Products
InVaIidatcS the Law.

The Supreme Court Holds That
Exemption of Farm Products
Invalidates the Law.
The United States supreme court
has decided the Illinois antitrust
statute to be unconstitutional because
of the provision of the law eXempting
agricultural products and live stock
from the operations Of the law. The
decision was rendered in the case of
Thomas Connolly and others against
the Union Sewer Pipe Company of
Ohio, and was delivered by Justice
Harlan.
The decision of the court in effect
declares unconstitutional the anti trust
laws of Georgia, Illinois, Indiana,
Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi,
Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina,
South Dakota, Tennessee. Texas and
Wisconsin. In each of these States
there is an exemption n favor Of live
stock and agricultural products in the
hands of the raiser or the producer, or
of labor organizations.
Under the ruling of the court an
antitrust law to be constitutional must
apply unfortunately to all combina-
lions, with no exemptions or excep-
tions whatever.
First stating whas could be done I'M
der the statute without the exempting
provision, Justice Harlan said:
That the arrangement or combina-
ton between the Union Sewer Pile
Company and the other companies,
corporations and firms, created and
constituted such a trust as the Illinois
statute forbids manifest from the evil
dence In the record. 1t is equally
clear that If the plaintiff was an Illinois
corporation its charter could be for
feited and all end put to its corporate
existence by proceedings instituted by
the attorney general of the Slate. 1t
is also clear that if the statute is valid,
the defendants could plead non-liabil-
ity for the pipe purchased by them up
on the ground that the plaintiff was
an illegal combination and the con-
tracts which it made with the defen.
dants were void under the statute OF
Illinois. The statute expressly author
ICES such a Defense"
He then took up the question of the
effect of the e%xempting section, aus
tanning the view of the circuit court
that this section is repugnant to the
fourteenth amendment of the consti-
tuition of the United States and, fur
ther, that it is 30 connected and inter-
woven with other sections of the act
as to invalidate The entire act.
Following is a portion of his argu-
ment in support of this position:
off combinations of capital, skill or
acts, in respect of the sale and pur-
chase of goods, merchandise or COM
modltles, whereby the persons, firms,
corporations, or associations forming
such combination may control or es-
tablish in their discretion the prices Of
such goods, merchandise, or commodi-
ties, are hurtful to the public interests
and should be suppressed, it is impos-
sible to perceive why like combina-
tons in respect of agricultural products
and live stock are not equally hurtful.
To declare that some of tho general
class engaged In domestic trade or
shall be deemed criminals
IL they violate certain regulations pre-
scribed by the State for the purpose Of
the public against illegal
combinations which have for their OBJ
jet the destruction of competition and
lhe control OF prices, and that others
the general class, also engaged In
'uCh trade OF commerce, shall not be-