The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-09-06

Il
rate, about fourteen months after the
passage of our act-passed an act entitled
/ An Act to Protect Trade and Commerce
Against Unlawful Restraints and Monopo-
hes This act of Congress is commonly
known as the Sherman Antitrust Act.
This act of Congress remained practically
dormant until the decision rendered on
| the 10th of April, 1908, by the Circuit
| Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
| in the celebrated case called The North
ern Securities Case This was a bill filed
at the instance of the United States to
restrain the defendants from violating the
| Sherman Antitrust Act. The United
States was plaintiff and the Northern Pa
] clfic Railway Company, the Great North
ern Railway Company the Northern Sc
curities Company including the chief pro-
| Tloters, Messrs. Morgan, Lamont and 9th
| ers, were the defendants. The Northern
| Pacific and the Northern Railway Com
pany were the owners respectively of
trans continental parallel competing in
| ter-State lines of railway. The individ
uals controlling these two companies
Messrs. Morgan, Lamont and others, con
celved the design of putting the control
| of both OF these great companies in the
hands of one person-and that, an artl-
| fetal one,-and to this end the Northern
Securities Company was organized under
| the laws of the State of New Jersey with
a capital stock in the fabulous sum of
| $500, 900 000-the exact amount required
to purchase the stock of the two parallel
lines which 1 have mentioned; the Sc
curities Company assented to, and be-
came party to the scheme with the
Northern Pacific and the Northern Rail
way Company, and it thereupon acquired
SO per cent of the stock of the Northern
Pacific, and rs per cent of the Great
Northern Company, and it thus procured
to be placed in its sole control both of
these great railroad lines and destroyed
absolutely every motive for competition
| between thu hitherto rival competing
roads by pooling the earnings of freight
and passenger rates of both companies.
| Four circuit judges heard the case and
they unanimously held that this combina-
! ton of interests fell within the inhibition
of the Sherman Antitrust Act; they de-
clare such combination and consolidation
| a trust and conspiracy In restraint OF
| trade and commerce among the several
States and therefore illegal and void; and
they further hold that AN agreement be-
tween competing railroads which requires
them to act in concert, and fixes the
rate for carriage Of passengers or frelghts
over their respective lines from one State
| to another, and which, by that means
restricts temporarily the right of any one
of such carriers to name such rates of
| carriage of such freight or passengers
over its road as it pleases, Is contract
in direct restraint of commerce within the
meaning of the Antitrust Act, in that 1t
| tends to prevent competition =; that
| Congress has the power to regulate com
merce and to say that no contract or com
| bination shall be legal which shall re-
strain Interstate trade or commerce by
shutting off the operation of the general
| law of competition An appeal by the de-
| PENDANTS takes the case to the Supreme
Court of the United States for review.
In the language of an eminent jurlst re-
viewing the case the decision woke up
the crowned monopolists and shook them
from their slumbers on the throne This
statute which lay dormant practically for
thirteen years has thus had breathed into
il by the court the breath of life and
has been made to speak in tones that
have been heard by the commercial world.
1t remains yet to be seen whether Its
voice shall be further heard, or silenced
Dy the highest court Ol review. IL 10 d
significant fact however that the law de-
partment of the general government never
took prompt steps to present a case of this
kind under this statute, until it was
spurred on to duty by public sentiment
al oused well nigh to white heat in tho
communities which chiefly felt and suf-
| fered the wrong. 1t is also significant
! fact that as soon as the facts in proper
case were brought before the court,
the court delivered decision in harmony
| with equity and justice, and one which is
| likely to be discussed as much as the
| famous bred Scott decision.
Our own act of 1899 has as yet slept
the sleep OF the just. No case under it
as far us l have been informed, has been
| brought before the court to test It's
efficacy. Since its passage the contention
has been generally made that its provs-
ions have been f1agrantly violated, and
from time to time other legislation has
been demanded and urged to furnish ad-
ditonal remedies to clrcumvent the en-
croachments of the trusts.
Finally in Difference to general aglta-
ton the Legislature of 1899 enacted a law
on the Sth of March, 1892 in which it de
clares pools and trusts to control prices
conspiracy to defraud, and makes it
unlawful to issue or own trust cert'h-
Gates, the purpose and effect OF which IS
to limit or fix the price, or lessen the pro-
duction and sale of articles of commerce,
or prevent, restrict or diminish the manu-
facture or output of articles of commerce.
The first section of the act provides,
that
Any corporation organized under
the laws of this. or any other State
or country for transacting or conduct
ing any kind of business in this State,
or any partnership or individual or
other association of persons what
soever. who shall create. enter into,
become a member of. or party to,
any pool, trust, agreement. combina-
ton. confederation. or understand
ing with any other corporation, part
nership, Individual or any other per-
son or association of persons, to regu-
late or fix the price of any article of
merchandise Or commodity, or shall
enter into. become a member of or
party to, any pool. agreement, con-
tract. combination. or confederation,