The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-03-19
NORTHERN SECURITIES CASE
FIGHT OF THE GOVERNMENT
AGAINST THE MERGER.
For First Time In History of United
States courts Four Circuit Judges Sit
60 Hear Arguments-Court Room
Crowded to Hear Them-Beck's OPEN
Ing Plea.


AMss GAGus
st. Louis, March 1S.-For the first
time in the history of the United States
courts, and by authority of special
act of congress passed last February,
four United States circuit judges are
sitting together to hear arguments in a
case the trial being the fight of the
government against the Northern Sc
curities company, of New Jersey. in the
celebrated merger suit: Under this spe-
cial act the United States circuit court
for the district of Minnesota is holding
it's session in st. Louis, in the appellate
court room, and by this arrangement
the case can go Immediately from this
court to the supreme court of the Unit
ed States, whereas in the general court
proceeding it necessarily would go
through the circuit court of appeals and
delay of from two to three years prob
ably would ensue. The hearing of the
| case in st. Louis is merely for the per-
sonal convenience of those concerned.
The four judges before whom the
merger case is being argued are United
States Circuit Judges Caldwell, Thayer,
| Sanborn and Van Deventer, Judge
! Caldwell presiding.
| The attorneys for the government are
Assistant Attorneys-General James K.
Beck and William H. Day and Special
Counsel D. T. Watson, of Pittsburg.
| United States Attorney D. p. Dyer as
sisting.
| For the Northern Securities company
are Former Attorney-General John w.
Griggs, Former Judge George B. Young,
of St. Paul, M. D. Grover, general at
company, and C. w. Bunn general at
torney for the Northern Pacific compa-
| ny. Most of to-days session was TAX
en- up with the presentation of argu-
ment for the government by Assistant
Attorney General Beck. After he had
concluded, late in the afternoon, argu-
ment for the Northern Securities COM
pany was begun by Former Judge
George B. Young.
| Assistant Attorney Beck began speak
| ing soon after court convened and, with
the exception of two hours of recess he
| spoke continuously until nearly 4
O'Clock. The court room was crowded
to hear his argument. Mr. Beck re-
which is being tried in the United
States district court at the other end
of the building, saying that the laws
are such that employees of railroad
who do not own one cent of stock or
| one rail of the road, can be enjoined
from striking and thereby interfering
with the Interstate commerce act by
stopping traffic; but that unless this
court so ruled, the government is pow
erless to prevent the owners Of rail-
roads themselves from merging, pre-
venting competition and thereby inter-
fering with the very points the inter-
state commerce act sought to protect.
| When Assistant Attorney General
Beck had finished his argument, For
mer Judge George B. Young of st. Paul
began presentation of arguments in re-
buttal for the Northern Securities COM
llpany. Judge Young opened briefly,
sketching the building of the Great
Northern railroad and its extension to
the Pacific Coast. He explained that at
the beginning it was almost impossible
for the road to secure sufficient east
bound trade and that long time was
spent in building up the lumber trade
for traffic east from the coast. He
! then followed with summary OF the
| building up and branching out of the
trans-Pacific trade and the enlargement
| of the railroad interests. After Judge
! Young had spoken for half an hour,
court at 4:30 o'clock, adjourned until
tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock at
which time Judge Young will continue
bic