The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1903-12-15
KNOX FILES HIS BRIEF
GOVERNMENTS CASE AGAINST
THE MERGER SUBMITTED TO
SUPREME COURT.
REASON FOR SUIT STATED AT LENGT
ROADS OPERATED BY DEFEND
ANT PARALLEL AND COM
PETlNG LINES

Washington, Dec 15-The blief
the government in the case Or
Northern Securities company ani
ers VS.. the United States. on arr
from the decision of the circuit a.
OF the United States for the die
OF Minnesota, was filed in the Uni
states supreme court during the q
The document was prepared by Atc
ney General Knox and Assistant Alto
.ey General Day and covers lS0 print
ed pages.
After stating that the bill in tht
case was originally brought by tn,
government to restrain the violation
uf the antitrust law by the Securities
company in the consolidation of the
Northern Pacific and the Great North
ern railroads and that the decision O
the court below was favorable TO tbs
contention of the United States the
brief enters into the following Specifi
cations as to the reasons for the ac
tion:
First-The lines of railway operated
by the defendants. the Great Northern
Railway company and Northern Pacific
Railway company, are parallel and
competing.
Second-That the combination is in
restraint Of interstate commerce and a
monopoly.
The concluding paragraph of Judge
Thayer's opinion in the circuit court
Is quoted as summing up the argu.
ment bearing upon the facts of the
case as follows:
AT the present time the Securities
company is the owner of about SO per
cent OF all the stock of the Northern
Pacific company and the owner
about rs per cent of all the stock of
the Great Northern company.
The scheme which was thus de.
vised and consummated led inevitably
to the following results:
Results of the Merger.
"First--It placed the control of the
two roads in the hands of single per
son, to wit, the Securities company,
by virtue OF its ownership of a large
majority OF the stock of both com.
panies.
"SecOnd--It destroyed every motive
for competition between two roads en-
gagged in interstate traffic, which were
natural competitors for business, by
pooling the earnings of the two roads
for the common benefit of the stock.
holders of both companies; and ac-
cording to the familiar rule that every
one Is presumed TO intend what is the
necessary consequence of his own
acts, when done wilfully and deliber.
ately, we must conclude that those
who conceived and executed the plan
aforesaid intended. among other
things, to accomplish those objects"
The attorney generals own sum
mary of the results of the deal is as
follows:
The final result of these transac-
tions was that one and the same set of
men-.Mr. Hill and Mr. Morgan and
their associates being the ruling
= spirits among them-acting together
u.der charter agreement and through
the agency of corporate organization
became vested with absolute power of
control OF two parallel and competing
systems OF interstate railway. In place
OF the two distinct sets OF stOckhold-
ers with rival and competing interests,
namely. the stockholders of the Great
Northern and Northern Pacific, there
has been substituted one set OF stock
holders with common and non-competi-
tive interests, namely, the stockhold-
ers OF the Securities company. Thus
identically the same persons who con-
trolled the Great Northern and North
ern Pacific before the Securities COM
pany came into possession of major
ity OF their shares control them now
only now these persons have com
mon interest-a community Of inter-
est'-in the
= Earnings Of Both Roads,
while formerly the interests or the
-