The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1904-03-16
NORTHERN SECURITIES.
Merger Case Decided In Favor
o tn Government.
Majority Opinion Declares That Con
gress Has Supreme Power to Regu
late Interstate Commerce, and That
the Antitrust Law of 1890 Is
Constitutional.

Washington, March Is. - In the
! United States supreme court yestef
day, an opinion was delivered in the
merger case CT the Northern Securi
| ties company VS.. the United States in
| favor of the governments contention
that the merger was illegal The
opinion of the court was handed down
by Justice Harlan and it upheld the
decree of the circuit court for the dis.
trict of Minnesota in every particu'
lar Four of the justices dissented
from the five constituting the major,
ity.
Close Shave For Government.
Very soon after Justice Harlan had
concluded his presentation of the
case it became evident that the court
had divided on the questions at issue
and as other opinions were announced
it developed that there not only had
been a very close shave for the gov.
eminent but that one of the members
of the court who cast his vote with the
majority entertained opinions of his
own, which fact rendered the division
all the more marked and interesting
This was Justice Brewer who while he
concurred in the result announced in
an Independent opinion of his own
that he held the view that previous
antitrust decisions had been more
sweeping than was justified Four Of
the nine justices dissented outright
These were Chief Justice Fuller and
Justices White. Peckham and Holmes
The fact was noted by several per.
sons that the argument in the case
was begun Dec. IA, just three months
previous to the decision. For so i'm
portant a case this is considered a
very brief interim between the argu.
ments and the decision The case was
brought by the United States against
the Northern Securities company,
corporation of New Jersey; the Great
Northern Railway company, a corpor.
alton of Minnesota; the Northern Pa.
cific Railway company, corporation
Of Wisconsin,; James ]. HILL citizen
of Minnesota and William p Clough.
D. Willis James, John S Kennedy, J.
PierpOnt Morgan Robert Bacon,
George F. Baker and Daniel Lamont,
citizens of New York
It's general object was to enforce,
as against the defendants, the provis.
ions of the statute of July 2, 1890,
commonly known as the antitrust act,
and entitled "An act to protect trade
and commerce against unlawful re.
straint and monopoles."
The Majority Opinion.
Justice Harlan reviewed the facts
as disclosed by the record in the case.
OF the governments case he said:
"The government charges that If the
combination was held not to be in
violation of the act of congress, then
all efforts of the national government
to preserve to the people the benefit
of the competition among carriers en-
gagged in interstate commerce will be
wholly unavailing, and all transconti
mental lines, indeed the entire railway
system of the country, may be alb
sorbed, merged and consolidated thus
placing the public at the absolute
mercy of the holding corporation"
Of the railroad case he said:
"The several defendants denied all
the allegations of the bill imputing to
them purpose to evade the provis-
ions of the act of congress or to form
a combination or conspiracy having
for its object either to restrain or to
monopolize commerce or trade among
the states or with foreign nations.
They denied that any combination or
conspiracy was formed in violation of
the act"
Justice Harlan came Immediately to
the judicial consideration, his opening
sentence indicating the decision. He
said: I'm our Judgment the evidence
fully sustains the material allegations
of the. bill and shows a violation of
the act of congress, in so far as it de-
clares illegal every combination or
conspiracy in restraint of commerce
among the several states and with for
eign nations, and forbids attempts to
monopolize such commerce"
He said it was indisputable that
upon the principal facts of the record,
under the leadership of Hill and Nor
gan, the stockholders of the two rail
road companies having practically
parallel lines of road, had combined
under the laws of New Jersey by or.
ganizing a corporation for the hold
Ing of the shares of the two companies
upon an agreed basis of value.
THE stockholders of the two com
panies disappeared, as such for the
moment, but Immediately reappeared |
as stockholders of the holding com
pany, he said. Necessarily by this |
combination the holding company in |
The fullest sense dominates the situa-
ton and the constituent companies |
cease to be in active competition for
trade, the justice wrote
These constituent companies have
become "practically one powerful CON
solidated corporation by the name Of |
a holding corporation, the principal, |
If not sole, object for the formation Of |
which was to carry out the purpose of |
the original combination under which |
competition between the constituent |
companies would cease"
He said the stockholders OF the two |
old companies are now united in their
interest in preventing all competition |
between the two lines and that they |
would "tolya cora that No norsons ara |