The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-12-15

Washington, Dec. 15.-The argu-
ment in the Northern Securities case
was resumed in the United States SUI
preme court to-day and again the
courtroom was crowded by attorneys
and others interested in the case. At
torney General Knox was recognized
almost Immediately after the court
came in and resumed his argument at
the point at which he left off when
court adjourned yesterday. He de-
clared that, by the union Of the North
ern Pacific and Great Northern Sc
curities company two competing inter-
state railroads were brought into such
relations that their independence as
competitive factors in interstate COM
merce was destroyed.
The thing that had been done was
declared illegal, he said, when brought
about by the methods pursued in the
joint traffic and trans Missouri cases.
These were cases of contracts or
agreements between independent and
competing lines of railroad for the
regulation of traffic charges. The
government maintained that these
agreements restrained interstate com
merce, II the supreme court sus-
tanned Sc It contention.
The c3urt heard the cases patiently,
Mr.. Knox said, and the arguments thrice
presented by the railroads failed to dis
turb the courts conclusions that the con
tracts or agreements in question violated
the law.
The exigencies of the. cases rendered
necessary a complete Interpretation of the
statute. The power of congress to enact
the law: the application of the law Ito
coInn1o,fae and specifically its APP
plicatiens to contracts or agreements reg
ulating rates were all denied.
Court Considered Carefully.
Dark forebodings of resultant CONNER
cial disaster, should the government s
contention prevail, were <'solemnly and
forcefuly impressed upon the court by
gentlemen of eminent personal and pro-
fessional standing. These conditions in
vited and secured patient and full con-
sidera tons of the case and exhaustive
analysis and Interpretation of the statute
in the judgment. '-. +. DIP. ,...--
After making it perfectly clear that the
court was not to be dissuaded from giving
effect by it's judgment to a public policy
declared by a constitutional statute, the
court stated what that public policy is
and wherein it was infringed by the chal.
lenged agreements.
This exposition of the law is now tbs
governments reliance, as it should have
been the defendants admonition. The
courts decision in the trans Missouri case
was not followed by disaster but by year:
Of abundant prosperity, ,undisturbed unit
new devices We're put into operation tt
accomplish again the destruction of com
petition and to thwart the wise policy Q
the law. It is not the observance of tn
law or it's enforcement that creates panic
or distress. That is wilful violations o
| it's wholesome provisions, or defiance Q
/ the laws Of economic health.
The attorney general said that i
| was not his intention to reargue any O.
| the. propositions settled by the trans
do what he could to show their appli
| cation to the facts in this case. He
| however, made the following state
f,nent of the great questions settled b,
the court in those cases:
Established Precedents.
.First-To shut out the operation o
| the general law of competition be
tween competing interstate railroad
is to restrain interstate commerce
Second--To bring the operations O.
| two or more competing interstate rail
body shuts out the operation of tn,
general law of competition and con
| stitutes restraint upon interstate
| commerce.
Third-The congress is competen
| to forbid any agreement or combina
| ton among companies competing TO
| interstate commerce which restrain
commerce among the, states by shut
| ting out the operation of the genera
| law of competition.
Fourth-In order to maintain a sui
| the government is not obliged to sfOy
| an intent to restrain commerce If sucI
restraint is the natural and necessar!
| effect of the arrangement.
He then said:
/ no Ia 90. Of 9u ic 1oir a
| ton in the form of trust or otherwise
/ that is, combinations in any other form
/ Combinations in the form Of trusts wer
I well understood at the time Of the enact
ment of this law. They were invariabl
! formed by transferring the stocks o
property of the constituent units to
holding trustee, whose will was thus dom
| inantly enthroned over the whole; an
against the stocks or property SO trans
! ferred the holding trustee issued certifi
| Gates to the transferers representing thei
respective proportions of the whole. Thi
| form of combination was, evolved from tn
experience that a "gent.eman's agree
| ment'' to control competition works bet
| ter when the collateral is up.
Any con1bfna ton that has these fea
! lures is. a combina ton in the form of
! trust, and is specifically invalidated b
| the statute.
4 Created Trust.
The testimony shows conclusively,
think, that as matter of fact and la,
/ the thing which these gentlemen did wa
| to create a. combination in the form {
trust, the form specifically prohibited b
| the act of congress, if it restrained inter
state commerce and also that the Norther
! Securities company was formed for tn
purpose of taking. over. the control of tn
Great Northern and Northern Pacific rail
roads and actually took over that contrt
and with that control absolute power owe