The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1903-02-23
THE BEEF TRUST INJUNCTION,

That the Sherman antitrust law is worth
trying to enforce is shown by the temporary
injunction granted by Judge Grosscup
against the beef trust That this injunction
is issued at this late day is an indictment
against the attorney general and his prede-
cessors for not bringing suit earlier for the
operations of the trust have been notorious
~ known for years.
Judge Grosscup holds that the evidence
shows conspiracy in restraint OF interstate
commerce which he defines as follows.
Commerce is not restricted 20 specific acts Of
sale OF exchange II includes the intercourse
al the initatory and intervening acts, instfu
mentslities and dealings that directly bring
about the sale or exchange The underlying test
Coz interstate commerce. is that the transaction
as entirety including each part calculated to
bring about the result reaches into two more
States aud that the parties dealing with refer
ence thereto deal from different States
What may be called the body Of these trans
actions (intersta,e commerce ~ meats ~ two
fold, II reaches back 10 the purchase Of cattle
that COME 10 defendants from States other than
those in which defendants manufacture and Il
reaches l5r,vard 10 the sale OF the meats. after
conversion 10 rarties dealing WI n respect there
to from other States followed by shipments into
other States
As TO meat sent to agents IN another state
and there cold from their stores the decision
says
The transaction in such cases in reality is
hAtwccn the purchaser and he agent principal
The agents represent the principal a. the place
where The exchange takes place bur the trans
sctitn as commercial errity includes the prin
tipa and include him as dealing from h!s place
~ business
That the bill Of complaint shows the eE
ietencs Of a combination, he saws. no one
IAN doubt The only question remaining is
/ whether the combination alleged Is an Il
| legal dne The nudge declares IT IS that il
is clearly In restraint Of trade. and that the
| petition taken in its entirety, makes out
case under the sherman act Of 1890
Of course this does not finally settle III,
case The trust may appeal and probabl,
will do so But the decision is very persua
sive especially as It comes from Judg
Gfossoup who only few weeks ago IN
public address defended what Presiden
Roosevelt would call the good trusts"
And yet this instance illustrates how IA
the sherman act fails Of really curing III
trust evil This prosecution has been pent
ing for several months during which tim
the packers have refrained from enforcin
the agreements which constituted the cor
spiracv against trade During the same p,
riod the prices Of cattle have coneiderabl
declined stu there hae been no apprec
able decline in the retail price of beef
BY one means Or another the packers hay
contrived apparently 10 maintain the trut
in effect If not in direct operation, and th
butchers and the consumers alike are su
at their mercy
And in the face Of this condition the pres
dent alone among republicans wanted ant
trust legislation and all he wanted was pu
llcity
y II is plainly 10 he seen that We are jur
Z at the beginning Of the trust problem