Courier Democrat., 1904-11-03

necttOn With the presidency IN speak
ing of him q friend suggested that his
antitrust record was clear. deter
mined to examine for myself, and l
find that Judge Parker was elected
chief judge of the court Of appeals, the
highest judicial tribunal of the Empire
State, Nov. 9, 1897, and began his du-
ties Jan. /, 1898.
"Hts first judicial expression was a
dissent from the opinion of the court in
the matter Of Kimball, 155 New York,
e. (72), jan. "a. 1898. He delivered
the opinion in Williams versus Della
ware, Lackawanna and Western Rail-
road company, in the same report, Jan.
28, 1893, and from thence until his re-
cent retirement from the bench he
seems to have assumed entire RESPONSE
bility as chief justice and to have dis
charged his full duty as q member Of
the court.
"An examination of his opinions
shows that he has been consistent
throughout his judicial career and that
he was an able, conscientious and fear
less Judge. ''s
'In Cohen versus Berlin and Jones
Envelope company, 166 New York, 292,
the court said that 'an agreement be-
tween manufacturers Of IS per cent
Of the envelopes of the country and an
outside manufacturer, providing that
the selling price of all envelopes man.
ufactured by them during term of
years should be fixed by corporate
agent and instrument of the combina-
ton, threatens a monopoly whereby
trade in a useful article may be re-
strained and its price unreasonably en-
hanced and is therefore invalid The
opinion in this case was delivered by
Parker, chief justice, in which he said,
inter ALA, that the contract gave and
was intended to give the parties Of the
second part, through the Standard En-
velope company, the exclusive right to
fix prices at which manufacturers Of
envelopes shall sell their output during
the term fixed by the contract, the OBJ
ject being to secure better price for
the goods manufactured.
"'Such q contract threatens mo-
nopoly whereby trade in useful ar
ticle may be restrained and its price un-
reasonably enhanced, and it matters
not that the parties to it may have SO
moderately advanced prices that the
sum exacted for the product seems to
some persons reasonable, for the scope
Of the contract, and not the possibility
Of self restraint of the parties to it, is
the test of its validity
I'm Straus versus American Publish
ers' association (1904), III New York,
473, a combination existed between
certain book publishers to the effect
that they should fix and maintain the
price Of all books published and dealt
in by them and that copyrighted books
and all other books, whether copy
righted or not or whether published by
them or not, should be sold to book
sellers only who would maintain re-
tail net price Of copyrighted books for
one year and to those booksellers and
jobbers only who would furthermore
sell books at wholesale to no one
known to them to cut or to sell at
lower figure than such net retail price
or whose name should be given to
them by the association as one who
would cut the price,
'.The chief purpose Of the contract
was to maintain net retail price and
prevent the sale of books to dealers
who would sell for less than the net
retail price fixed by the combination.
"This contract was held to be void.
Parker, chief justice, saying, among
other things, The members Of the as
sociation, therefore, have entered into
an agreement which by its terms, as
we read It and as they have construed
it in their everyday working under it,
undertakes to interfere with the free
pursuit in this state Of lawful bust
ness in which any member Of the COM
munity has a right to engage, bust
ness in which monopoly is not Sc
cured by the federal tatutes-namely.
that Of dealing in books which are not
protected by copyrights-and hence It
II IN violation Of chapter $50. laws
$780,
'These opinions Of Judge Parker
strictly accord with the law against
monopolies as It is announced by the
supreme court of the United States in
Addyston Pipe and Steel company YER
ms ths unitsd States, 17t United
otates. ~ (1eoo), and In other cases
n coustruing the aet o6 coogrsGs Of
|3aly 3. 100. - pgotoct tza6s ana com