The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1902-06-21

l.
corporations, not common carriers, whicf
this defendant might consider beneficial.
to acquire. - This defendant was not
! formed as a scheme or device to evads
the act Of congress known as the ''anti.
trust act,' or any other law whatever
| but solely for the purposes hereinbefore
| stated. (
Not Restrain Competition.
This defendant was not formed nor
| did any OF those concerned in it's forma-
ton, nor any. Of, those who sold their
shares of stock to it, have any purpose
or intention to restrain trade or com
! merce, or to lessen competition between
said railway companies, or to monbpo-
llze trafhc In any manner Whatever: nor
| can any such results follow from the
| FORMATION, or operation of this defen-
dant. In point of fact since the argani-
eaton or this defendant, rates the
| defendant railway companies lines, in
Guiding rates to and from points COM
mon TO ooth have voluntarily been so
reduced as to decrease their earnings
| by upwards of a million dollars an
nua!ly. For all Interstate commerce
on the lines of either the defendant rail-
| way companies, except traffic beginning
and ending on their own lines respec-
| lively, the rates fixed by joint tariffs
| WIN connecting lines. In respect to all
sucn traffic neither of the defendant
companies has ever had, or can have,
|
! control OF traffic or rates. All joint
| tariffs with other companies to or from
| points common to the lines of the defen-
da1lt railway companies have always
been. and necessarily must be, the same
| Whether the traffic is carried by one or
the other of said companies. The total
amount of all other interstate traffic,
That Is, traffic between common points
| on the two roads, which is not competi-
| tive ooth as to rates and equally of ser
vice with other carriers having equal
alternating power with them, is less
imam Z per cent of the total interstate
| traffic of the two companies
! The sale and transfer Of property
| whether in the form of shares of cor
| porate stock or otherwise has never
been adJudged to be, and is not in viola
lion tnoa OF the act of congress of July 9,
! lS9O. known as the antitrust act"
This defendant is not railroad COM
pany, and it has no power to operate or
| manage railways, or make or control
rates OF transportation, nor to monopolize
| or restrain traffic of any kind So far
from intending to violate any provision
| OF SAID act of congress, the persons who
| were concerned in organizing this de-
| PENDANT, and those who have sold their
shares to 1T, had every reason to believe
| and did believe, that such sales were not
| IN any way in contravention of that act
| IN common with the general public, they
since the passing of that act in MANY
instances, the stock of a competing rail-
way company has been acquired by it's
competitor or the shareholders thereof.
without objection from any branch of
principal railways doing business through
OUT the country. This has been done
without objection from any branch Of
| the government of the United States, and
has invariably proven beneficial to the
railway companies concerned and to
the public; and those making sales Of
stock to this defendant had no reason to
oelleve that such sales were open to any
legal objection or question Whatever
Not to Control Rates.
This defendant was not organized for
the purpose of acquiring a ma jority of the
stock of either the Great Northern or
the Northern Pacific company but merely
to purchase the stock of those who
wished to sell. as above stated; and was
| not organized for the purpose of controll-
ing railway rates in the slightest de-
gree, and has not had and cannot have
| any such effect. The transactions referred
to in the petition have consisted in the
| organization of a lawful corporation, and
the purchase of property by it. ALI acts
done in relation to the organization of
TINS defendant and in the conduct of it's
business have been expressly authorized
| by law, and have had no effect whatever
| to restrain trade or commerce among the
several states or with foreign nations If
these lawful transactions should hereafter
| have any effect to restrain trade or COM
merce among the several states or with
foreign nations (Which is hereby denied).
! that effect would be merely Indirect re-
| mote, incidental and collateral, and not
! intended and as nothing compared with the
great expansion Of the volume of inter-
| state and international commerce which
was itnended, and which this defendant
| believes is destined to result from the en-
| terprise of the two railway companies,
| that eliminated in the purchase of the
| Burlington stock.
And this defendant says:
l. The "anti-trust' act was not in
tended to prevent or defeat an enterprise
| in aid of a great competitive interstate
and international commerce, merely be-
| cause such enterprise may carry with it
| the possibility of incidental restraint upon
some commerce, tri1ing both as respects
| territory and volume.
2. Nor was the act intended to limit
| the power of the several states to create
| corporations, define their purposes, fix
! the amount of their capital, and deter
mine who may buy, own and sell their
stock.
| 8. Otherwise construed, the act would
| be unconstitutional, because:
The power to regulate commerce with
| foreign nations and among the states
NoSo
| ulate any of the matters above mentioned
in respect to corporations created by the
states; and because.
Persons may not be derived of their
| property without due process of law, by
| taking from them the right to sell it, as
their interest may suggest.
There is defect of necessary parties
defendant, because, as already set forth,
the persons who made sales of stock of
| the said railway companies to this de-
tendant were numerous, exceeding more
| than 1900 in number, and few of them
! had any connection whatever in the plan
ming or forming of this defendant, and in
| their absence from this litigation no de-
! cree can be made affecting their rights
in the premises.
| And this defendant denies all and all
| manner Of unlawful combination and
| confederacy wherewith it is by the said
petition charged, without this, that if
there is any other matter cause or thing
in the petition contained material or nee
essary for this defendant to make answer
unto, and not herein or hereby we'll and
sufficiently answered, confessed, trav-
ersed, and avoided or denied, the same is
not true to the knowledge or belief of this
! S@P@