The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-17
AN EPOCH-MAKING CASE.

The Northern Securities case, the ar
gument of which was begun in the
United States Supreme Court on Mon
day, is one of the most important that
has ever come before that tribunal.
Upon the decision in it depends prop
erty of the value of hundreds of mill
lions of dollars and the question of
the extent to which railroad systems
in this country can be combined or
consolidated.
The case, briefly stated, is this: The
Northern Securities Company is a cor
poration authorized by the laws of New
Jersey. The purpose of it's creation was
to hold the shares of two great rail-
road properties, namely, the Northern
Pacific and the Great Northern rail-
ways.
| These railways are competitors, and
their competition is injurious to both
of them. 1t was the theory that if
the control of the two railways were
placed in a third corporation the COM
petition could be prevented without
violating the law which prohibits the
consolidation of railways to pre-
vent competition. The plan was
carried into effect. but before it be-
came fully operative the state Of Min
| nesota, through which the two rail-
| ways pass, objected. The objection
was in the shape of an injunction, but
it did not prove effective.
The United States then began suit
against the Northern Securities Com
pany on the ground that it was in vio-
lation of the Sherman antitrust act.
The case was tried before the United
States Circuit Court. and resulted in
victory for the government. The de-
PENDANTS appealed to the Supreme
Court.
The contention of the Northern Sc
curities Company is of course that
there has been no consolidation of the
North Pacific and Great Northern rail
ways, and that none is intended, that
there will be no smothering of COM
petition, and that each road will be
operated independently of the other.
on the other hand the government con-
tends that it is nonsense to say that
two great competing railway systems
under one control will be permitted to
compete with the same freedom that
they would If they were independent of
any restraining influence.
In the course of the argument in be-
half of the Northern Securities Com
pany it is asserted that there are
w ne
destroyed If the decision is adverse to
the company, the names of the systems
being given, and it is declared that
the situation for the railways of the
country generally will be very serious.
It is not for the court, of course. to
take into consideration the effect its
decision will have on railroad proper
ties concerned in the litigation, or On
those which have no connection with
it. Its plain duty is to determine
whether or not there has been a viola
tion of the antitrust law. 1t would
be useless to make statutes If the
courts should refuse to enforce them
because of injury that would be done
to persons or property.
If there are railroads which have
violated the antitrust law they acted
with the full knowledge of that law
and must take the consequences of their
act. The Northern Securities Company
was not in darkness in regard to that
law. Its creators aimed to accomplish
what that law prohibited without vio-
lating the letter of the law. No doubt
they acted on the best legal advice
which it was possible to get. AS to
whether or not they accomplished their
purpose Will not be known until the
Supreme Court renders it's decision.