The daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1904-1905, 1904-03-15
A DIVIDED COURT
Supreme Justices Do Not
Agree OH the Northern
Securities Case.
GOVERNMENT is UPHELD
But it is by an Exceedingly Narrow
Margin, Four Justices
Dissenting.
Justice Harlan Delivers the Decision
Which Says the Merger
Was Illegal.

Washington, March Is In the
United States supreme court an opin-
ion was delivered in the merger case
of the Northern Securities company
VS.. the United States, in favor of the
government contention that the mer-
ger was illegal. The opinion of the
court was handed down by Justice
Harlan and it upheld the decree of the
circuit court for the district of Mime
sofa in every particular. Four of the
justices dissented from the five con-
shutting the majority.
The division in the court was due
to a difference of opinion as to the
right of the federal control of state
corporations. The majority opinion
proceeded on the theory that congress
has right under the constitution to
control interstate commerce, no mat
ter by whom conducted, while the
minority or dissenting opinion was
based on the theory that in the pres
ent case the effort is to regulate the
ownership of railroad stocks by state
corporations and that such ownership
is not interstate traffic.
When the members of the court
filed into the chamber they were met
by an expectant crowd which filled
every seat both inside and outside
the bar Seated among the attorneys
was Attorney General Knox and Sec
rotary Taft and an unusual number of
senators and members of the house.
There was no surprise manifested
when, promptly on the assembling of
court, Justice Harlan began the deliv-
cry of the opinion. The fact that he
had been selected for the preparation
of the document at once led most peo-
pie to conclude that the decision
would uphold the Sherman antitrust
law and sustain the contentious of the
government. The justice read his
opinion from a printed copy, which
covered thirty pages, and consumed
about an hour and a quarter in it's de-
livery.
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
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 di-
vision all the more marked and inter-
esting. This was Justice Brewer who
while he concurred in the result, an
nounced 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 opinions of Justices
Harlan and White were long while
those OF Justices Brewer and Holmes
were comparatively brief All told.
the court consumed two hours and
three quarters in dispo5ing of the
case. The fact was noted by several
persons that the argument in the case
was begun Dec IA, just three months
previous to the decision. For so i'm
very brief interim between the argu-
ments and the decision. The case
thus decided was brought by the
united states against the northern
Securities company a corporation of
New Jersey; the Great Northern Rail-
way company, a corporation of Min
nesota; the Northern Pacific Rail
way company, a corporation of Wis
cousin; James ]. Hill, a citizen of
and William P. CIough, d.
Willis James, John S. Kennedy, J.
Pierpont Morgan, Robert Bacon, Geo.
F. Baker and Daniel Lamont, citizens
Of New York. It's general object was
to enforce, as against the defendants,
the provisions of the statute of July
2, 1890, commonly known as the anti
trust act, and entitled can act to pro-
tect trade and commerce against un-
lawful restraint and monopolies."