The farmer and mechanic., 1903-09-08

Iote, ABOUT fourteen months after tho
passage or our act-passed an act entitled
An Act TO Protect Trade and Commerce
Against Unlawful Restraints and Monopo-
lles.' This act of Congress is commonly
known as the Sherman Antitrust AZ,
1hls act OF Congress remained practically
dormant until the decision rendered On
the 10th Of April, 1903 bv the Circuit
court OF Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
| IN the celebrated case called The North
crn Securities Case This was a bill filed
| at the instance OF the United States to
restrain the defendants from violating the
sherman Antitrust Act The United
| states was plaintiff and the Northern Pa
cihc Railway Company, the Great North
crn Railway Company, the Northern Sc
curltles Company, including the chief pro-
motcrs, Messrs. Morgan, Lamont and 9TH
ers, were the DEFENDANTS The Northern
Pacific and the Northern Railway Com
rany were the owners respectively Of
| transc continental parallel competing IN
tcr-State lines of railway. The indivd-
| uals controlling these two companice
| Messrs. Morgan, Lamont and others. con
| celvcd the design of putting the control
| OF both of these great companies in the
| hands of one person-and that, an arti-
| fetal one,-and to this end the Northern
| Securities Company was organized under
| the laws OF the State Of New Jersey with
| q capital stock IN the fabulous sum OF
! $400 000 ,000-the exact amount required
| to purchase the stock of the two parallel
| lines which l have mcntioncd the Sc
| curltlcS Company asscnted to- and be
! came party TO the scheme with tho
| Northern Pacific and the Northern Rail
/ way Company, and it thereupon acquired
! SO per cent of the stock OF the Northern
! Pacific, and 76 per cent of the Great
/ Northern Company, and 1T thus procured
! to be placed In its sole control both of
! these great railroad lines and destroyed
absolutely every motive for competition
/ between this hitherto rival competing
roads by pooling the earnings of freight
! and passenger ties of both companies.
| Four circuit Judges heard the and
! they unanimously held that this combina-
ton of interests fell within the inhibition
of the Sherman Antitrust Act; they de
clare such combination and consolidation
a trust and conspiracy in restraint of
trade and commerce among the several
States and therefore illegal and void; and
they further hold that An agreement be-
tween competing railroads which requires
! them to act concert, and fixes the
rate Tor carnage of passengers or freights
over their respective lines from one State
s.! to another, and which, by that means,
restricts temporarily the right OF any one
| of such carriers to name such rates of
! carriage of such freight or passengers
over its road 1t peaSeS, Is a contract
!. IN direct restraint OF commerce within the
meaning of the Antitrust Act, IN that 1t
! tends TO prevent competition that
Congress has the power to regulate com
mtrce and to say that contract or com
ha b;ol, ,rooH
strain interstate trade OF commerce by
shutting off the operation OF the general
law Of competition An appeal by the de
fCndants takes the case to the Supreme
Court of the United States for review.
In the language Of an eminent jurIst re-
/ viewing the case the decision woke up
the crowned monopolists and shook them
from their slumbers on the throne. This
statute which lay dormant practically for
thirteen years has thus had breathed into
il by the court the breath of lie and
has been made to speak IN tones that
lave been heard by the commercial world.
1t remains yet to be seen whether It's
voice shall be further heard or silenccd
by the highest court OF REVIEW. 1t IS d
significant fact however, that the law de-
partment Of the general government never
took prompt steps to present case of this
kind under this statute until it was
SjJurrcd on to duty by public sentiment
aroused we'll nigh to a white heat in the
communities which chiefly felt and suf-
fered the wrong. 1t is also a significant
fact that as soon as the facts III proper
case were brought before the court
the court delivered decision III harmony
with equity and justice, and one which IS
likely to be discussed as much as the
famous Dred Scott decision
! Our own act of 1899 has yet slept
the sleep of the just. No case under 1T
as far as | have been informed, has been
brought before the court to test its
efficacy Since its passage the contention
has been generally made that It's provls-
ions have been flagrantly violated, and
from time to time other legislation has
been demanded and urged to tuI ad
ditional remedies to clrcumvent the en-
croachments of the trusts.
FINALLY in Difference to general agita-
ton the Legislature of 1899 enacted law
on the 8th of March, 1899, in which it dc
cIares pools and trusts to control prices
a conspiracy to defraud, and makes II
unlawful to issue or own trust ccrt'h
| Gates. the purpose and effect OF which Is
e TO limit or fix the price, or lessen the pro
lduction and sale of articles of commerce
or prevent, restrict or diminish the manu-
: facture or output of articles of commerce
The first section of the act provides
that
Amy corporation organized under
the laws of this. or any other State
or country for transactlng or conduct
ing any kind of business IN this state
or any partnership or lndlvlduai or
other association of persons What-
; soever who shall create. enter INTO,
become a member of. or party to,
any pool trust, agreement. combina-
tion, confederation. or understands
ing with any other corporation, part
, nership, individual. or any other per-
son or associa ton of persons, to regu-
; late or fix the price of any article OF
merchandise or commodity, or shah
enter into. become membef OF OF
party to, any pool agreement, con-
tract combination. or confedcra'loh'
70 tx or limit the amount. or quantity
of any article. commodity or nel-