The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-03-15

. Washington. March 14.-In the United
States Supreme Court to-day an opin-
ion was delivered in the merger case
of the Northern Securities Company VS..
the United States in favor of the gov
ernments 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 district of Minnesota in
every particular. Four of the justices
dissented from the five constituting the
majority.
The division in the court was due to
a difference of opinion as to the right
of federal control of state corporations
The majority opinion proceeded on the
theory that Congress has a right under
the constitution to control interstate
commerce, no matter by whom con-
Quoted while the minority, or dissent
ing, opinion, was based on the theory
that in the present case the effort is
to regulate the ownership of railroad
stocks by state corporations, and that
such ownership is not interstate traf-
fic.
An effort was made by the court to
prevent knowledge of the fact that the
opinion was to be rendered to-day from
getting to the public, but nevertheless
it was quite generally understood
among the newspaper men, attorneys
and others for an hour or so before the
converting of court to-day that the de-
cision would be announced. When,
therefore, the members of the court
filed into the chamber at noon they
were met by an expectant crowd, which
filled every seat both inside and out
side the bar
Seated among the attorneys were At
torney General Knox and Secretary
Taft and an unusual number of SEN
ators and members of the House of
Representatives. There was no sur
PRISE manifested when, promptly on the
assembling of the court, Justice Har-
Ian began the delivery of the opinion.
The fact that he had been selected for
the preparation of the document at
once led most people to conclude that
the decision would uphold the Sherman
antitrust law and sustain the conten-
tons of the government. The Justice
read his opinion from a printed COPY |
which covered thirty pages, and con-
sumed about an hour and a quarter in
its delivery.
Close Shave for Governments.
Very soon after Justice Harlan had
concluded his presentation of the. case
II became evident that the court had
divided on the questions at issue, and
as other opinions We're announced it
developed that there not only had been
very close shave for the government,
but that one of the members of the
court who cast his vote with the ma
Jority 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 anti
trust decisions had been more sweep
ing than was justified.
-Four of the nine justices dissented
outright. These were Chief Justice
Fuller and Justices White, Peckham
and Holmes. Dissenting opinions
We're delivered by Justices White and
Holmes. The opinions of Justices Har-
ian and White were long. while those
OF Justice Brewer and Holmes We're
comparatively brief. All told, the court
consumed two hours and three-quar-
lers in disposing of the case.
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
brief interim between the hearing of
arguments and the decision.
The case decided to-day was brought
by the United States against the
Northern Securities Company, a cor
poration of New Jersey; the Great |
Northern Railway Company, corpor-
alton of Minnesota; the Northern Pa
cific Railway Company, a corporation |
OF Wisconsin,; James ]. Hill. citizen |
OF Minnesota; and William p Clough |
ID. Willis James. John S. Kennedy. ]. |
Plerpont Morgan, Robert Bacon, |
George f. Baker and Daniel Lamont. |
citizens Of New York.
Its general object was to enforce. as
against the defendants, the provisions |
OF the statute of July 2. $780, common
~ known as the antitrust act and en-
Titled AN act to protect trade and |
commerce against unlawful restraint |
and monopolies."
First Sentence Showed Drift.
Justice Harlan practically indicated |
the decision of the court in the first |
sentence of the opinion proper In |
that sentence he said:
In our Judgment. the evidence fully |
Sustains the material allegations of the |
plll and shows a violation of the act |
or Congress-, in so far as it declares IL
legal every combination or conspiracy
IN restraint of commerce among the |
several states and with foreign ma
lions and forbids attempts to monopo-
lie such commerce."
It was indisputable. he continued
that under the leadership of Hill and
Morgan the stockholders of the two
railroad companies, having PRACTICAL
~ parallel lines of road had combin-
ed under the laws of New Jersey by
organizing corporation for the hold
ing OF the shares OF the two connpa-
Mes upon an agreed basis OF value
Proceeding, he said:
The stockholders Of these two COM
petlng companies disappeared, as such,
Ior the moment, but Immediately re-
appeared az stockholders Of the hold
ing company, which was thereafter 10
guard the interests OF both sets OF
stockholders as a unit and to man.
Hee' or cause 70 be managed. both lines
or railroad 80 N held IN one owner
Enip. Necessarily by this combination
~ Arrangement the holding roraftanu