The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-09-06
The EVENING TIMES, GRAND FORKS, N. D.

stock of number of sugar refining
companies was purchased by one COM
pany 30 as to unite under one manage
ment ninety-ive per cent in point of
product of all the sugar refining en-
terprises Of this country, was not a
vilation Of the Sherman act. It was
held that the agreement denounced In
the antitrust act must be, in order
that the act should be constitutional.
an agreement directly affecting inter.
state trade, and that the union of
manufacturing plants, merely because
part Of the products of the union
were intended to become part of the
Interstate trade, was not within the
inhibition Of the act or the power of
congress to control. This, 1t was then
thought by Mr.. Olney. SO narrowed
the scope of the act as to r,mit all
effective regulation AMI control to the
state governments and prevented any
hope Of useful national action. How
ever, under Judge Harmon, who sue
ceeded Mr.. Olney as attorney-general,
two decisions were secured in the
supreme court whic happlied the anti
trust act to agreements between rail-
roads of competition between them. II
was contended in these cases that rail-
roads were not included in the opera-
ton of the antitrust act, bur the SUI
preme court held otherwise when thew
were Interstate railroads. Another de-
cision was obtained in the lower courts
during Mr.. Cleveland's administration
In the Addyston Pipe case, in which
contracts or agreements between firms
IN different states seeking 10 control
a large part of the business done in
cast iron pipe within number of
states were held to be in violation CT
the act. This was subsequently affirm
ed IN the supreme court In Mr.. Nc
kinley's administration, while of
course the attention and energy of the
public and the government were nee
essarily and largely absorbed in the
Spanish war and the responsibilities
which followed 1T, the work of securing
practical judicial construction Of
the trust act proceeded.
MI. Roosevelt, as president, from the
very first, devoted his great energies
to facilitating and pressing on the
work of suppressing the trust evil and
the abuses of organized capital. Early
IN his first administration case arose.
the decision of which was the most in.
portant step taken In the development
OF prosecutions under the trust act.
That case was known as the Northern
Securities case. 1t presented the oues-
ton whether the owners of the Great
Northern road and the Northern Pa
ciffc road might unite the two proper
ties to prevent the competition be-
tween them, by organizing together
nololng company under the laws of
New Jersey, which should hold the
stock in both companies and practi-
cally manage the two roads as one.
The supreme court decided that the
corporate cloak to the union consti-
tuted contract in restraint of inter-
state trade, and that the court w;s
justified in looking through the fiction
OF the. holding company though Or
gained under the laws of New jersey,
to determine what the actual purpose
andeffect were. There were seven or
iginal proceedings for violation of the
antitrust act begun and prosecuted
under Mr.. Harrison, six under Mr..
Cleveland, and three under Mr.. Nc
kinley. There have been sixteen thus
far under Mr.. Roosevelt
Practical Difficulties In Enforcing the
Trust Act.
The course of proceeding under the
difficulties In it's practical Use for the
suppression of the abuses aimed at.
The offences which It denounced were
rarely committed in the ight of day,
and could only De establi shed ..y the
proof of secret agreements which it
is most difficult to secure. The diff