The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-12-16
GREAT INTEREST
IN THE SPEECHES
The Courtroom Crowded With
Lawyers and Others, Who
Listen With Closest Atten-
g ton to the Argument
Of the Attorney
General.
fBv Associated Press,

wAsHINGToN,aD D.. O., December 15.-
Argument In the Northern Securities case
was resumed In the, United States su-7
premo Court to-day. and again the court lt't
room was crowded by attorneys and 9TH
erss Interested In the case.
Attorney General Knox was recognized
almost Immediately after the court came
In, and resumed his argument at the point
at which he left OFF when court adjourned!
yes terday. IIe declared that by the union
Of the Northern Pacific and the Great
Northern in the Northern Securities Com ON
pany, two competing Interstate railroads!
have been brought into such relations that,
their Independence as competitive 1ac-i
tors In interstate commerce, Is DESTROYED.
THE thing that has been done was de-
clared illegal, he said, 53 hen w orought
about by the methods pursued n IN the
Joint Traffic and Ira MS Missouri cases
Thees were cases Of contracts or agree
merts between independent and compel
ing lines of railroad for the regulation
4 of traffic ID charges. The government
charged that these agrecnaen ents restrMa an tned .1
Interstate commerce, and this court sus-}
tanned that cont ton. IS
Position Stated.
Tho Attorney-G General said that 1t was
not his intention to reargue any OF the
propositions settled by the Trans Missouri
and Joint Traffic cases, but do what he
could to show their applications To the
facts of this case. He, however, made
the following statement of the questions
settled by the court In those cases:
"FIrst-That to shut out the operation
Of the general law Of competition between
competing Interstate railroads Is TO re-
strain interstate commerce. "a
"Second-rhat to bring the operations
of two or more competing interstate rail-
roads under the control of q single body
shuts out the operation OF the general law
of competition and constitutes a restraint
upon Interstate commerce. ~
..Thrd-That Congress is competent TO-
forbid any manag ement or combination
among companies competing for inter-
state commerce which restralns commerce.
among the States by shutting out the OPP
Grafton of the general law OF compet-
ton. s5sgs1s. ~. 81.
...Fourtt-That In order to maintain a
suit the government Is not obliged to
show an intent to restrain commerce, II
such restraint is the natural and necessary
effect Of the arrangement e. 81
Testimony Conclusive.
He then said :5''The testimony shows
conclusively, i think, that asa matter
Of fact and law. the thing which these
gentlemen did was to create a. combina-5
stIon In the form of trust, the form spe-{
cifically prohibited by the act Of Con-
gress, II 1t restrained interstate COM,
merce and also that the Northern Sc
curlties Comapny was formed for the
purpose of taking over the control of the
Great Northern and Northern cihc
Rai!roads, and actually took over the
control, and with that control absolute
power over botn roads. the thing which
your honors have said constitutes such
restraint under circumstances. substan-
TALLY tho same as those of this case.
Mr.. Knox discussed tho end accom-
fplished by the merger OF the railroad
interests, saying: 1.-THE device resortcd to
In this case. If sustained, defeats the pol,
icy OF tho law, as 1t accolnplishes all and
more In the way of eitectuali destruction
Of competition than was accomplished in
the 'Trnns-MSsouri and Joint Traffic cases..
You may call 1t n merger, O comblna-
tion, O. pool, a conspiracy, consolida-
tion. q contract, O securities company,
or what you like. The thing It accom-
plishes is not varied by variation in
name or manner of bringing 1t about.
Tho great object OF Congress was to de-
clare policy against which no arrange
ment' could stand by which the parties
fully equipped themselves with the power
to defeat It's purpose.
Competition Destroyed.
He declared that tho power TO suppress
competition had been eAerclscu i1e as
serted that they executed that power
and actually suppressed and destroyed
competition tho moment they parted with
the legal title to- their segregated holdings
and vested them In tho Northern Secur-
ities Company. This. no contended actu-
ally destroyed competition between the 4
two roads, and in support Of this state
ment ho laid down the following general
proposition: Y
sl"ro be competition there must be com,
petitors III dilIerent interests.
s,,Any act which eliminates the competi-
tors or uniftes the interests destroys
competition. 0
''There is no competition where the net
results of operation goes into a common
purse,
"There may be rivalry between the dlf-
f>rent departments or agencies as to
which will contribute the most to tho
common fund as to which is the most
economically administered or operated,
4but 80 long as all are interested in the
operations of each by sharing ta fixed
proportion OF a common fund. unaffected
by the proportion contributed by each,
there Is no competltlon,' II
Summing Up.
&J Mr.. Knox then summed np his points