The Red Cloud chief., 1904-03-25

continue TO he directed by the same
interests. When the legal advisers
have measured and weighed the opin.
ion it may be possible TO accomplish
the same result by lodging the owner.
ship of the stocks In some other rail.
road. as is now done In a score Of
similar cases, as the New York Cen
trail owns Lake Shore, as the Penn
sylvania owns Baltimore and Ohio, as
the Oregon Shore Line owns h
Southern Pacific, being in turn owned
by the Union Pacific.
As an individual cannot be prohib.
tied from buying securities. so a rail
road corporation cannot he prohibited.
In the majority opinion there is no
reference to this form Of control.
The question was not raised and non.
Interference with the scores of cases
where such control is held may be re-
garded as pointing out the way for
the retention of the Hill properties.
While the decision does not touch
upon the ordinary method of holding
railroads. il has IA direct bearing upon
the lluNSlIldl Sl'ldNloH' MANY WI NV
corporations formed along the trust
line i'm the last ten years come under
the designation of an unlawful comb
nation as laid down in the dictum OF
the opinion. The Securities company
AS the head and front of those offend
ing Is Justice Harlan's keynote, and
every combination of properties, every
....A ,A.A, bg. ~ nnItnnfIvi N o.
concerns has been based upon the Sc
| curitics idea. The United States Steel
combination exchanged its stocks for
those of n dozen great corporations.
' many of which were in tnrn built
upon many competing plants. This
| corporation. which Is used as Illus
| tratiyc of the others. derives its rev
enuc by dividends from the underly-
ing plants. each one OF which is gov
erncd by its own board, but under
direction and control of the central
power.
From it's PRONUNCIATION the Sherman
antitrust act was understood as es-
tablishing a criminal offense to be
proceeded against by form of 1udict.
ment of individuals and to bring a
corporation tn punishment in the in.
Fiction of a fine. Instead OF seeking
q specific act of restraining trade by
oycrchargC. rebate or eXtOrtiOn. the
government profted by the trend OF
practice before courts and appealed
to the injunction. The proceedings
against the Securities company was
to en.ioin il from doing things feared
or alleged and the order of the cour
below was in the form of injunction
now affirmed by the Supreme court,
The Securities company being pun
ished not for what it has done but
what it is capable of doing.
The same procedure is imminent
against any corporation which owns
the stocks of two or more engaged In
the same line of business. The court
declares there is but one remedy. the
repeal of the law; If the enforcement
alonc the line outlined in the opinion
becomes fashionable Wall street trad
ers will congratulate themselves thai
the blow fell after Security values
had been brought down to the dollar
for dollar basis and liquidation may
possess an element of profit.
John Marshall Harlan, who handed
down the decision in the Northern Sc
curities case, has been an associate
Justice of the Supreme court OF thu
United States since Nov. 30, 1877. III
was born in Boyle county, Kentucky
in 1889, was educated in Center col
lege and Transylvania university, an
was a county judge at the age of rs
From 1861 to 1863 he was colonel o
the Tenth Kentucky regiment in tn
Union army. and from the latter yea
until 1867 was attorney general O
the Blue Grass state. Justice Harlan
was one of the arbiters in the BerinI
sea case. lie it was who handle,
down the decision in the famous Ne
braska maximum freight rate case.