The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-03-12
LIFE Of COAL TRUST
IS IN HANDS Of COURT
SUPREME COURT HEARS HEARST
CASE AGAINST GIGANTIC
COMBINE
Most Important Hearing in Years. Be.
lief That Lower Court Will Be
Overruled and Agreements Of Trust
Will Be Laid. Trusts Refuse to
Produce Agreements to lntestate
Commerce Committee. Much Inter-
est Is Manifested.

Washington, March 11.-To-day is
expected to be the most important in
many years before the Supreme Court
of the United tSates.
A momentous phase of the suit of
Representative William r. Hearst, the
object of which is to dissolve the coal
trust, which defied the President of the
United States, Will come up for argu-
ment.
Besides this, it is in the air here that
the court may hand down to-day it's
decision in the Northen Securities
merger case.
The special point to be determined
by the argument in to-day's coal trust
suit is whether the coal barons can defy
the mandate of the Interstate Com
merce Commission. If they can the
Interstate Commerce Commission is
poWerless as against any trust and it
will be necessary to make new laws
to cover this point.
In the suit of Representative Hearst,
which was being pressed by the Inter-
state Commerce Commission in New
York, the members Of the trust, by
their attorneys, who will appear in
force to-day before the Supreme Court,
absolutely refused to produce certain
agreements which were essential to the
establishment of the complainant s
case, these being specifically the agree
ments between the coal trust and the
Independent coal companies. The court
in New York sustained the refusal to
produce an dthe case comes up on ap-
peal to-day on swift expedition under
the Hoar law.
ho ic +oJ ~, Io ~
lowed by an early decision by the Su-
| preme Court, and it is confidently ex-
pected that the court below will be
found to have been in error. In that
event the coal trust must produce the
| discriminating evidence and will be dis
solved.
There is much more public interest
| in the coal suit than in the merger
suit. The people at large have an i'll
terest in the former suit, and especially
! in the phase of it which, if the court
| overrules Judge. Lacombe, who sustain
| ed this trust contention, will make it
| impossible for such combinations as the
coal trust to oppress consumers. from
one endszof thescountry. to the ther /,
,EhesoNaEEgli Judge FAC BE Will
Imake. imp ossible fins q heS future Tor Sthe
Erepetition of, the calan1it ties of a Year
or more ago., when the coal trust took
| advantage of the necessities of the
poorest people in the land. -
The interest is deeper for the addi-
tional reason that the coal trust inter-
| ests are at least as large as those of
| the merger people, and a blow struck
| at the coal trust would be~felt by ev-
! cry big combination of corporations or
merger DUNG business in violation of
! law.
! One Of the most important issues in
the coal trust suit, however, is peculiar
| to it, namely, that is must be decided
| whether the components of a corpora
| tion craged with being violator Of law
can refuse to answer questions essen
tial to the government or private COM
plainants who seek to have the law en-
! forced.