The sun., 1910-05-09
THg SUPREME COURT on TEE RI.
STRAINF or TRADE.
mat ne DeoIulons PFohIhlted naasSaabl
maEprnlnts Onp1ti1naa.

AAAAAaAANAA NIAAA- -AAAAHNAa
To rHn EDTroR oV THn ScN-Sir: Has .
majority Of the Federal Suprsms Court
decided that reasonable restraints Of inter
state trade are Unlawful
Those Who have had occasion 10 read
the decisions In the various cases involving
the interpPstatlOn Of the so-called anti
trust lAWor have read the literature on the
subject cannot fail 10 Be Impressed with
the evident reluctance % apply the epithet
criminal % corporations and individuals
Whoss sole offence has been -combining >
business interests sqsased In interstate
commerce.
President Roosevelt 10 bis annual message
10 Congress In iSoS dspTeoatsa . too drastic
application Of the law. saying -it b gener-
ally useless to try 10 prohibit all restraint
In competitiOn, whether this restraint be
reasonable OF unreasonable. and where
Il h useless q is generally hurtful.-
likewise Judge Taft In . speech delivered
In Bath. No. In lpos. recognized the value Of
some combinations and sddod:
u wsuld Scsm e. 9 CongTuus iisali lmsu nat
ne eVil llbuas of oomhanAiinnsl oHistoA. but bad
most indsanlts ides Oi how Il was 10 ~ DO.
scEtbed. Construed literally MA statute could
be uaod 10 puniaa oomhanailnla Sf ne most usa.
iul character. and ne dihocusly 10 its e0aserac-
uon has been 70 dfau . ans egeeuve u bnp-
pres ths real evil aimed a by the Legislature
and 70 preserve . proper and clear rule for ne
guidance sf business men while not Interfering
win legitimate combinauons Which Congress
had no puTposs 70 prevent
Amin. President Roosevelt in his ipOa
message 90 Congress said: 1t 10 unfOr-
tunats that our present laws should forbid
all combinations. instead Of discriminating
between those combinations which do good
aud those combinations which do evil
aud. quoting the comments Of the Interstate
Commerce Commissioners upon the Trans
Missouri Freight Association case and the
Joint TTalio Association case. adds. such
associations In fact Exist nov a. they did
before these decisions and with the same gen
eral eject. In Justice 10 all parties We ought
probably 70 add that u is dlhicult 70 SEQ hOw
our Interstate railways could be operated
with due regard 20 the interest Of the ship
per and the railways without concerted
action Of the Kind afforded By these assO-
ciatiOns.-
note Of regret can also be detected IN
the opinion rendered In the American 10
bacco case tisa .. n. TO0l by.Judgs l.acOmbe,
w NuAAu NJ AaaNNNN NhAN NnN ANNAANAAANus
ambiguous when enacted. that every com
bination In restraint Of interstate trade ia
unlawful. ia no Longer open 20 cOnsirno-
ton By the Inferior Federal courts. and he
illustrates the compFehensiVeneaa Of the
statute by saying that two individuals
who have been driving rival express wagons
between villages In two contiguous States
uhO enter into a combination 70 Join fsFoea
and operate q single line restrain an exist
Ing competition; and would seem 20 make
little difference whether they make such
combination more effective by forming
OF not
Attorney. General Wickersham, 10 q speech
delivered In New York city in 1909. ex-
pressed the hope that the Supreme Court
will 81 an sarly date authorisatively denne
The full scope and eject Of the anti-trust Law.
and that Il . construction should be given
a. far reaching ~ some Of the Judges Of the
Circuit Court Of Appeals IN this circuit rave
Ia the American Tobacco case. COngFeaa
may 70 amend the act a. 10 except from ita
provisions the ordinary agreements which
are necessary results Of healthy business
conditions.
The public a. large. whIls denolns,aE
bad trusts. is INCLINED 10 smile beniRnlv
on good trusts: though II 10 dlf4cult %
80 how there can b any good" trusts m
view Of the construction which n h rensr. |
ally supposed tho supreme Court has put
upon the sherman laW. Every combna- |
ton In the form Of q trust or otheFuiae-
which has tho eHect of restraining inter. |
state commerce 10 under the ban Of the Iaw.
shsther that restraint IL reasonable or an.
reasonable. benevolent or malevolent, GOOD |
or bed
That a. least h the proposition which Mr. |
Justice Harlan. writing the judgment Of |
The majority Of the court IN the Northern /
Securities csse uel L. A. a1il declares n
plainly deducible- from the decisions Of
The court. and which Mr. Justice Nhua |
epitOmihes In the same case page aTal In |,
these words IL has been decided bv this
court that "a the antitrust act forbids any /
restraint u therefore embraces even r.a.
sonabls contracts and agreements and Mr.
Justice Harlan remarks page 117l. NO one.
We assuine. will deny that fhsss propositions
we're distinctly announced In former ,dec,. I
siOns OF this cour
In view Of such q procurement bv the
learned justices Of our highest court II
savors Of less majesty or mental lnraparitv
10 suggest that the assumption NAV not b,
warranted but an sHamination Of tho op,n-
lon. or rather explanation. written bv Mr
Justice brewer IN the Northern securiti..
case may lead 20 an opposite CONFUSION.
The quest on is Did . majority Of thu An
prrme Coart. ~ matter Of fact, dec de thst
oil restraints Of Interstate trade, whstner
or unreasonable, we're within
the Inhibition Of the antitrust law
- Aa.n.Hala
of Mr. Justice Harlan 10 deduced Was r.n-
deTed In the sO-called Freight Association
case United States ". Trans Missouri
Freight Association. iOs 4. 3 lsOi. The de-
cisiOn vas rendered By a divided court.
Chief Justice Fuller and justices Harlan.
Brown. Peckham and Brewer voting 70 re-
verse the lower court, and Justices whits.
Field. shiras and Gray dissenting on the
ground. among others. that reasonable
restraints Of interstate trade did not come
within the terms Of the act. Mr.. Justice
Brewer. without comment. conCuFFsd with
The majority. and the impression was con-
veyed and still persists that upoA the ques-
ton a. 70 WhsthsF reasonable a. veil as IN.
reasonable restraints we're made criminal
BY the statute the court stood ave 90 four
IN the afirmAtivs.
Such IN Impression Wss natural and war;
Fanted until the NOrihsrn Securities cSa.
was decided. bat In that case Mr.. JustIos
Brewer. Whils oOnClFFing With the majoritv
In the Northern Securities decision, Savs
page ssol:
oannoa aassat % an %. d said A, n. .,,.,..
iust annSuncsd. FiFus lsa ma - es.s
shns Was vita the majority of Ne eouFt nj a.
deei.ioa n Uni'sd states ~ Preaghs AssSCiamsa,