The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-01-31
DECISION IS MADE
AGAINST PACKERS
Beef Trust Trimmed by the
Supreme Court
CONSPIRACY CHARGE HOLDS
Scheme as Whole Seems to Be With
in Reach of the Law, According
to Justice Holmes, Who
Rendered Opinion. 40
CONSPIRACY CHARGE HOLDS

| TO nX prices on IT eats, etc. Inc
| opinion was hande0 own by Justice
Holmes and affirmed the decision of the
the court below, which was against the
packers
Summarizing the bill Justice Holmes
said:
1T charges a combiation of domi-
nant proportion of the dealers in fresh
meat throughout the United States not
to bid against each other in the live
stock markets of the different states to
bid up prices for a rev days in order
to induce the cattlemen to send their
stock to the stockyards, to fix prices
at which they will sell and to that end
to restrict shipments of meat when nee
| essary, to establish a uniform rule of
credit to dealers and to keep a black
list to make uniform and improper
charges for carriage and finally to get
less than lawful rates from the rail-
roads to the exclusion of competitors"
Referring to the allegation of fact of
continuity in the charges he said:
Whatever may be thought concerning
the proper construction of the statute,
a bill in equity is not to be read and
construed as an indictment, when 1t has
been read and construed a hundred
years ago but it is to be taken to mean
what it fairly conveys to dispassonate
reader by fairly exact use of English
speech. Thus read, this bill seems to us
intended to allege successive elements of
a single connected scheme"
He disposed of the charge of multi
fariousness" in the following language:
Within Reach of Law.
1.-The scheme as a whole seems to us
to be within reach of the law. The con-
stituent elements as we have stated them.
are enough to give to the scheme body
and for all that we can say, to accomplish
It, Moreover, whatever we may think
of them separately when we take them
up as distinct charges, they are alleged
sufficiently as elements of the scheme.
1T is suggested that the several acts
charged are lawful and that intent can
make no difference. But they are bound
together as the parts of a single plan.
The plan may make the parts unlawful.
Intent is almost essential to such con-
venton and is essential to such an at
tempt. Where acts are not sufficient in
themselves to produce a result which the
law seeks to prevention instance the
monopoly-but require further acts in adj
dition to the mere forces of nature to
bring that result to pass. an intent to
bring it to pass is necessary in order
to produce dangerous probability that 1t
will happen
| He also said:
The combination alleged embraces re-
straint and monopoly of trade within
single state, although its effects upon
| commerce, among the states, Is not acci-
dent secondary, remote or merely prob
able"
Speaking further on the question of
| interference with Interstate commerce,
Justice Holmes said that charge was
made of a combination of independent
dealers to restrict the competition of the
agents who purchase stock for them In
the stock yards.
1.-The purchasers and their establish
| ments are" he said, largely in different
| st ties from those of the stockyards and
the sellers of the cattle. perhaps, is not
| too much to assume, largely in different
/ states from either. The intent of the COM
! bination Is not merely to restrict competi-
ton among the parties, but, we have
/ said, by force of the general allegation
at the end of the bill to aid in an at
tempt to monopoize commerce among
| states"
He added
when cattle are sent for sale from a
| place in one state with the expectation
that they will end their transit after
purchase, In another. and when in effect
they do so, with only the interruption
necessary to find a purchaser at the
! stockyards and when this is a TYPICAL
I
thus existing is a current of commerce
among the states and the purchase OF
the cattle is a part and incident of
| such commerce"
Interstate Commerce Involved.
With reference to the allegation that
| no Interstate commerce is involved in
the sale of meats by the paclrs, the
opinion says
"The allegations of the second section.
even If they import a technical passing
of title at the slaughtering places, also
| import that the sales are to persons in
| other states, and that the shipments to
other states are part of the transaction
| pursuant to such sales-and the third
| section imports that some things which
are sent to agents are sold by them
ard sufficiently indicates that some at
least. of the sales, are of the original
| packages. Moreover the sales are by per-
sons in one state to persons in another
state.
But we do not mean to imply that the
rule which marks the point at which
state taxation or regulation becomes per-
missable, necessarily is beyond the scope
of interference by Congress in cases
where such Interference is deemed nee
essary for the protection or the commerce
among the states. Nor do we mean to
intimate that the statute under consid-
eraion is limited to that poin."
After referring in detail to the various
objections to the original bill of COM
plant. and disposing of all of them as
insufficient, Justice Holmes said:
1.-THE defendants cannot be ordered to
compete. but they properly can be forbid
den to give directions or to make agree
ments not to compete
Notifications Suggested.
Notifications of the injunctions were
| suggested as follows:
1.-The general words of the injunction
'or by any other method of device, the
purpose and effect of which is TO restrain
commerce as aforesaid should be stricken
out The defendants ought to be inform
ed as accurately as the case permits what
| they are forbidden to do. Specific de-
vices are mentioned in the BILL and they
stand prohibited. The words quoted are
| sweeping injunction to obey the law.
To the same end of definition as far as
attainable, the words as charged in the
| bill' should be inserted between dealers
| in such meats and the effect of which
sales and two lines lower as to charges
for carriage. the same words should be in
serted between dealers and consumers,
| and the effect of which,"