The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-05
Opinions an the Decision

LIE .ueciSion W judge tocnreh ap-
pea pears to be soYh andsto best follow
the law and Previous court rulings
While he uphe5ds the Minnesota law
against the consolidation of railroads.
ne holds that it does net apply to this
case because tiRfefflas heela mo consoli-
datien.. The lib therla securities com
pany is not r48Fpad ougfapanys and is
not subject to restrictive laws con-
corning railroads. 1t, is not a: railroad
investor in the stacks Of the two com
panies. andsit dad finally formed as a
means Of securely holding the stock
Of the Northern Pacific against any
repetition of the attempt of the Union
Pacific or other rival Sronapany to get
control of it, and thus deprive the two
eompanies4of the Great commercial adj
yantages which they derive from their
common ownership and control of the
Burlington system. The Great North
era and the Northern Pacific are man
aged independently of the Securities
company. They have not violated the
law. and the Northern Securities COM
pany, its incorporators. directors and
officers are as much beyond the reach
of either the state or federal law as
any individual who CHANGED to own
stock in two competing lines. Both
the federal and state cases will go to
the supreme court for final adjudica-
ton. The question involved is one of
law solely, and those who would drag
the case again into the arena of per-
sonal politics are likely to find that the
public cannot be deceived a second
tine.-Duluth Herald.
But there is another fact that is like
ly to have much more potent infu-
ence in shaping the decision of the SUI
pren1e court than any economic theory
as to the necessity and inevitableness
of railroad combinations. This is the
vitality important fact, which stands at
the threshold, of the controversy, that
all railroads and all, combinations of
railroads are subject to the supreme
power Of congress to control and regu-
late their rates Of interstate transpor-
tation. and that therefore they acquire
no more power by. combination or con-
soiidatlons to tMake unreasonable and
unjust rates, to the prejudice. of any.
shipper or continuity than they had
before. 1t is precisely because congress
has full control of interstate commerce
by railroads efAother agencies that
many eminent lawyers believe that the
supreme court was in error when it
decided by bare majority of one that
the Sherman anti trust act was in
tended to apply to railroads. Whether
the court was. ia error or not. it Is plain
exaction of unjust or oppressive rates
by any railroadJ or combination of rail-
roads lies in this alnquestioned power of
congress to regulate them within the
judicial limits Of what is fair and rea-
sonable. 1t might reasonably be ex-
pected that this fact would exercise a
decisive influence in the final arbitra-
nlent of the csHrt.-St. Paul Pioneer
Press. .>iss
-
The decision Of Judge Loehren in
the case of the state of Minnesota
against the Northern Securities COM
pany, In which he holds that the. for
nation Of the company to hold. the
stocks of the Great Northern and
Northern Pacific railroads is, not in
violation of the state law forbidding
peting9 liHes.sofi railroads, lis siIls direct
opposition to,ithe decision of The court
of appeals -'in the United Stat es, case
brought under the SheElnan aptis trust
law and fnsWhich the court, held the,
SeouritiessGempany an Illegal eonabina
tion. The case of the United States IS
now in the supreme court ana, the,
state,sWcase1will eventually gez there.
after having been passed upon by the
court Of appeals. AS it stands now
the government has WON it's case in
the court Of appeals. and the state has
lost its case I'm the circuit court, the
deeisien of the! judges upon the fact
that the Securities 5coIhpaFdy is actual
ly railroad company to all intents
and purposes, being in direct antag-
onism to each saltwater Ca
zette. .-,.~s. .e...,.y. 4. s.z
The decision of Judge Lochren
against the state in. the merger case4is
a real surprise. 1t would have caused
less surprise, had 1T come before the
circuit court decision in the govern
ment case. There is no connection be-
tween the two; but they are associated
in the public mind. There is an i'm
preston, too, that the state had aabet-
ter case than the government. A de-
cision against the United States would
have caused less establishment than
this. The state law is plain, and ap-
plies directly to railroads. The federal
law is doubtful, and was rarely in
veked against & railroads before the
Fans-Missourilt case, and then by a
majority of oniyJ one of the supreme
bench. We apprehend that this deci-
sion will ACCOMMODATIONS between
courts of law nand courts of politics,
not unf1attering to Judge Lochren.-
Minneapolis Tribune.
The essentially AID important point in
Judge Lechreh's decision In the merger
case. is that The Northern Securities
company is not a railroad company,
and therefore not affected by the stat
utes forbidding the consolidation OF
competing andt farallef lines of rail-
way. He says1sthat there is not a
1scintilla of evidence to prove that 1t is
a railroad company: that it is simply
an investing comhany. That being the
exact fact. it Isl difficult to see how the
state can win. PM appeal. However, it
is we'll to have the matter reviewed by
the highest court. Judge Lochren is
an able and learned tiurist. and un-
doubleday has given correct inter
probation of the law as it stands. 1t
is all well enough to say that the court
should consider the intent of the stat
ute as we'll as its text, but law is an
exact jscience.-St. Cloud Times.
( Judge Lochren's decision in the
merger case evidences great independ-
ence of thought. In view of the deci-
sion in the federal case reached by four
Judges of the court of appeals, the
temptation might have been strong
and it would certainly have been easy
to have writtensa decision that would
more closely coincide with that opin-
ion, even though the issues are entire
ly different. The st. Louis case has
already been appealed, and the ST.
Paul case will probably follow it to the
higher court, where decisions may be
expected that will settle definitely. the
application of both the federal and the
state laws designed to prevent rail-
rfx<, I'll