The Princeton union., 1904-03-17
IS ILLEGAL.
The Supreme Court Decides in Favor
of the Federal Government in
the Merger Case.
Court is Divided In its Opinion Five
Finding for and Four Against
the Government.

the Government.
The supreme court of the United
States handed down it's decision in the
famous merger" case last Monday,
finding for the government. The case
was one in equity instituted by Attor-
ney General Knox who contended that
the Northern Securities company was
in restraint of trade, in that it violated
the antitrust law of July 2, 1890. The
case was tried in the United States
circuit court which declared the merger
illegal, and the case was appealed to
the supreme court. The decision
affirming the decree of the circuit
court had been expected for some time
and the courts opinion was no great
surprise.
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 partic-
ular.
-Four of the judges 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 corpora
tions. The majority opinion pro-
ceeded on the theory that congress has
a right under the constitution to con-
troll interstate commerce, no matter by
whom conducted, while the minority
or dissenting opinion was based on
the theory that in the present case the
effort is to regulate the ownership of
railway stocks by state corporations
and that such ownership is not inter-
state traffic.
Justice Harlan in his opinion says:
1.-THE government does not contend
that congress may control the mere
ownership of stock in a state corpor-
alton engaged in Interstate commerce.
1t does not contend that congress can
control the organization of mere own
ership of state corporations, author
lied by their charters to engage in in
terstate and International commerce.
But it does contend that, congress may.
protect the freedom of interstate COM
merce by any means that are appro--
priated and that are lawful and not
prohibited by the constitution. It
does contend that no state corporation
can stand in the way of the enforce
ment of the national will, legally ex-
pressed. What the government par
ticularly complains of, indeed, all
that it complains of here, is the ex-
istence of a combination among the
stockholders of competing railroad
companies which in violation of the act
of congress restraints interstate COM
merce through the agency of a COM
mon corporate trustee designed to act
for both companies in repressing COM
petition between them."
Continuing Justice Harlan said:
"The affirmance of the Judgment below
will only mean that no combination,
however powerful, is stronger than the
law or will be permitted to avail itself
of the pretext that to prevent it doing
that which, if done, would defeat a
legal enactment of congress, is to at
tack the reserved rights of the states.
1t would mean that no device in eva
sion of it's provisions, however skill
fully such device is contrived, and no
combination, by whomsoever formed,
is beyond the reach of the supreme law
OF the land, if such device or combin-
alton by its operation directly re-
strains commerce among the states or
with foreign nations in violation of
the act of congress-
The decision was concurred in by
Justices Brown, Brewer, McKenna
and Day, while the chief Justice and
Justices White, Peckham and Holmes
dissented.
Justice Harlan was followed by
Justice Brewer, who, while concurring
in the Judgment, did not accept all of
the language Of the opinion.
The: dissenting Justices, including
Chief Justice Fuller and Justices
White, Peckham and Holmes. pre-
sented two opinions giving their rea-
sons for not agreeing with the majors
ity Of the court in the decision reached.
The first of these was delivered by
Justice Holmes and the second by
Justice White. Justice Holmes in his
opinion contended that the anti-trust
statute is OF a criminal nature. He
said: "The law says nothing about
competition and only prevents its sup
preston by contracts or combinations