The Saint Paul globe., 1903-04-10

the proposition that the constitutional
guaranty of liberty to the individual to
enter INTO private contracts, limits the
power Of congress and prevents it from
!egislating on the subject of contracts Of
the class mentioned.
1t has been held that the word liberty
as used In the constitution was not to be
confined to the mere liberty of persons
put included, among others, a right to
enter into certain classes Of contracts
Tor the purpose of enabling the citizen
to carry on his business. But it
has never been, and in our opinion ought
not to be held. that the word included
the right TO enter into private contracts
upon all subjects no matter what their
nature and wholly irrespective among
other things, Of the fact that they would
II performed. result in the regulation of
interstate commerce, and in Violation of
an act of congress upon that subject The
provision of the constitution does not, as
lat1ng with regard to contracts of the
above nature, While in the exercise of its
constitutional right to regulate among
the states On the contrary, we think the
provision regarding the liberty of the
citizen is to some extent limited by the
commerce clause of the constitution, and
interstate commerce comprises the right
to enact a law prohibiting the citizen
from enterting into those private contracts
which directly. and substantially, and not
merely indirectly, remotely, incidentally
and colaterally regulate to greater or
less degree commerce among the states.
Liberty is Restricted.
We cannot so enlarge the scope of the
language of the constitution regarding
the liberty of the citizen as to hold that
1t includes or that it was intended to
include right to make contract which
in fact restrained and regulated inter
state commerce Notwithstanding congress,
proceeding under the constitutional pro-
vision giving to 1t the power to regulate
that commerce, had prohibited such con-
tracts" These observations, as a matter
of Ind fr1zr4
over the power of congress to limit to
some extent the right to make contracts
when enactjng laws for the regulation of
commerce between the states.
Learned counsel for the defendant fur
ther contend as follows: That the anti
trust act was not intended to include or
tual consolidation of parallel and COM
peting lines of railroad although such
combination operates to stifie competition;
that no relief can be granted to the gov
ernment in this instance because the
combination or conspiracy OF which it
complains has accomplished its purpose,
to-W1t. the organization of the Securities
company and the ledgment of the ma jor-
ity of the stock of the two railroads in its
hands before the bill was filed; and finally
that the combination proven was one
formed IN aid of commerce and not to
restrain it," in other words that it was
one formed to enlarge the volume of in
terState traffic and thus benefit the pub
lie.
The Court Dssents.
The court cannot assent to either of
these propositions. The first, we think,
is clearly untenable for the reasons al
ready stated and fully disclosed in the
decisions heretofore cited. Concerning the
second contention, we observe that it
would be a novel, not to say absurd, in
terpreta tion of the antitrust act to hold
that after an unlawful combination Is
formed and has acquired the power which
1t bad no right to acquire, namely, to
restrain commerce by suppressing com
petition and is proceeding to use it and
execute the purpose for which the COM
bination was formed it must be left in
possession of the power that it has ac-
quired, with full freedom to exercise
1t.
Obviously the act when fairly interpre-
ted, will bear no such construction. Con-
greSs aimed to destroy the power to place
any direct restraint on interstate trade
or commerce. when by any combination or
conspiracy, formed by either natural or
artificial persons, such a power had been
acquired; and the government may inter
vene and demand relief as well after the
combination is fully organized as while it
is in process of formation. In this in
stance, as we have already said the
Securities company made itself a party
to a combination in restraint of interstate