The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-15

= - - - - - - - - - - - - - - = - - @ - = commerce with foreign nations and among the several states, Is vested in congress, Is absolutely as 1t would be in Q single government having in It's con- stitution the same articles on the exer- else of power as are found in the con- stitution of the United States"
 Not Repugnant to Constitution.
 At this point, Justice Harlan announced 1 the inability of the court to concur in the view that the anti-strust act Is repug- nant to the constitution of the United States. The contention of the defend- ants, he said "could not be sustained without immediate effect overruling the prior decisions of this court. as to the scope and validity of the antitrust act. If as the court has held, congress can strike down combination between pri- vate persons, or private corporations, that restrain trade among the state in iron pipe or in tiles, grates and mantles, sure ly 1t ought not to be doubted that con- gress has power to declare illegal a com bination that restralns commerce among the states and with foreign nations as carried on over the lines of competing railroad companies is the exercise of pub lie franchises and engaged in such com merce."
 
 i line of argument he said:
 Indeed if the contentious of the de- fendants are sound, why may not all the railroad companies fin the United States that are engaged under state charters in l interstate and international commerce, enter into combination such as the one here in question, and by the device of n holding corporation obtain the absolute control throughout the entire country of rnf fHu for the power of congress to protect the pub lie against their exactions?"
 Enterprise In State Affairs. Coming again to the consideration of | the contention that interference by the federal government with the affairs of q state corporation will prevent the Secur- l itles company from exercising its func- tions, and will be an invasion of rights or the state under which the company was chartered he said:
 We cannot conceive for 1t to be possl- 1 bie for any one to seriousdly eontem- plate such application"
 Continuing on this line, he saidi We reject any such view of the rela- lions of the national government and the states composing the union. It cannot be given without destroying the just author ity of the United States. Every corpora | ton created by state is necessarily sub 1ect to the supreme law of the land. And If the suggestion is made that to restrain 0 state corporation from interfering with the free course of trade and commerce among the states in violation of an act of congress- is hostile to tho reserved rights of the states.
 "The Securities company is itself part of this combination; its head and front, It's trustee. It would be extraordinary if the court, fin executing the act of con- gress, could not lay hands upon that company and prevent 1t from doing that which, if done, will defeat the act of congress. Upon like grounds the court, without interfering with the rights of any state. can. by appropriate orders, prevent the two competing railroad com panies here involved from cooperating with the Securities company In restrain ing commerce among the states. Tn short, the court may make any order nec- essary to bring about the dissolution or , suppression of an Illegal combination that restraints interstate Commerce. All this can be done without interfering In any degree upon the just authority of states"
 Have Not Been Verified. Discussing the question as to the effect of the antitrust law on financial inter ests, Justice Harlan said the prediction had been made that disaster to business and widespread financial ruin would fol- low the execution of its provisions, and he added that such predictions had been made In connection with all preceding cases under that act but he said, they have not been verified. Justice Harlan set aside as fallacious the argument that the acquisition of stock by the Northern Securities compa- ny was in the nature of an investment, saying, that there had been no actual in- vestment in any substantial sense. In this connection, he referred to MT. Nor gan as authority for the statement that the stock had been transferred to the Se- curities company merely for the purpose of suppressing competition. and in sup port of this statement, he quoted the tes- timony of MT. Morgan in which he had said that the Securities company had been created a custodian because it had no other alliances. This" said Justice Harlan, disclosed the actual nature of the transaction, which was only to organ ize the Securities company as holding company, in whose hands not as a pur- chaser or absolute owner. but simply as custodian, were to be placed the stocks of the constituent companies"
 Referring to the decree of the circuit court Justice Harlan said that no valid objection could be made to 1t in form, or in substance.
 Will Destroy the Power.
 s'The decree" said Justice Harlan If executed will destroy not the property interests of the original stockholders of the constituent companies, but the power of the holding corporation, as the instru- ment of an illegal combination to do that which if done would restrain interstate and international commerce"
 Justice Harlan in conclusion said:
 'rrhe judgement of the court is that the decree below be, and hereby is affirmed. with the liberty to the circuit court to proceed in the execution of It's decree as the circumstances may require"
 Justices Brewer, Brown, McKenna and Day concurred in this opinion. and they, with Justice Harlan, constituting a ma