Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1903-04-23
IT WAS ALL ERROR
NORTHERN SECURITIES COMPANY
FILES IFS APPEAL.
Counsel Hold That the Court Erred
in Every Point in the Ruling.
Thirty.FOur Exceptions in All
The Decree Modified by Judge
SanbOrn.

St. Paul, April 81. - Thirty-four
points OF error are alleged by the coun-
sci for the Northern Securities company
and other defendants in their appeal
from the decision of the circuit court.
Exceptions are noted to every para
graph in the decree, and the court is
declared to be in error in rendering any
decree at all save one for Dismissal of
the petition and proceedings. Among
the points are the following: "The
court erred in finding and deciding that
the Northern Securities scheme. as
aforesaid enormously found by it to
have been devised and contaminated,
placed the control of said Northern Pa
cific and Great Northern railway com.
panies in the hands of the Northern
Securities company and destroyed every
motive for competition between said
two railway companies by pooling their
earnings for the common benefit of the
stockholders of both railway compa-
MES, and erred in finding and deciding
that any such scheme or any pooling of
earnings was ever contemplated or had
been made.
"The court erred in holding and de-
Gliding that all contracts and combina-
tons which merely tend to restrain in
terstate commerce, whether by suppress
sion Of competition or otherwise, are in
themselves, and although such tendency
does not result in any such restraint.
violations of the act of congress of July
2, 1890, known as the antitrust act.
"The court erred in holding and de-
Gliding that all contracts and combina-
tions which merely confer the power
to restrain interstate commerce, wheth-
err by suppression of competition or
otherwise are evasive contracts in re-
straint of such commerce and declared
illegal by the antitrust act, though
such power is not and is not intended
to be exercised.
"The court erred in holding and de-
Gliding that every combination whereby
the power is acquired to suppress COM
petition between two parallel and COM
peting lines of railway operated under
state charters and engaged in interstate
commerce is combination in viola
ton of said antitrust act, whether
such power is exercised or intended to
be exercised or not.
'The court erred in holding and de-
Gliding that it would have been VIC.
lation of said antitrust act had the in
dividual defendants, in pursuance of a
previous agreement so to do, sold their
shares of stock in the defendant rail-
way companies to another person and
had induced their fellow stockholders
to do the same. with the resulting ac-
QUESTION by such individuals of ma
jority of the stock OF each railway COM
pany.
"The court erred in holding and de-
Gliding that the interstate commerce of
each defendant railway company is
controlled by it's shareholders and not
by it's board of directors.
''The court erred in holding and de-
Gliding that the Northern Securities
company controls the commerce of both
the defendant railway companies,
though by the charter of each company
the management of it's business is vest.
ed in board OF directors and the COM
panies have and must have separate
and distinct boards of directors.