Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-24
ATTY. GENERAL
SAYS STANDARD
OIL MONOPOLY
WickerSham Draws Line
Between Octopus and
Tobacco Trust
CASES IN HIGH COURT
u. S. Tribunal Will Rem
der No Decision Until
After March IA
CASES IN HIGH COURT

" ASHINGTON, Feb. 23.-While
wv the 1upreme court of the United
States has vouchsafed no inti-
nation on the subject, it is generally
| supposed here the decision in the case
of the American Tobacco company,
which already has been argued before
the court, will not be handed down at
least until after the argument in the
case of the Standard Oil company.
which is set for March IA. Attorney
| General Wickersham, in his motion to
advance the hearing of the latter
case, described the two as essentially
kindred, and suggested to the court
they be considered together.
Lawyers here generally concur in
the statement made by Mr.. Wicker
sham to the court these two cases to-
| gether present for it's consideration
! ''practically the entire range of mod
ern Industrial organizations in this
| country" and substantially every lea
| ture of the "tru-. question" so Tar
| as it falls within the purview of the
! sherman antitrust law. Yet they are
| not precisely alike; indeed, it is said
| in some ls--tieularS they are SO dls-
| similar the court might find in favor
of the government in one case and
i against II III tHS OlASA.
Gases Are Somewhat Alike
The two cases are alike in that they
| are proceedings in equity to enJoin al
legged violations of the law of the land
| -neither is in its essence a criminal
action: in neither does the government
/ seek to procure either Imprisonment
| of individuals or exemplary fines upon
| the defendants. In both suits the
charges pressed are those alleging un-
| lawful combination and conspiracy IN
| restraint of interstate trade and COM
merce. and continuing monopoly or
| attempted monopoly of important eie-
ments in interstate commerce.
The Standard Oil company or new
Jersey is attacked as a holding com,
pany," Out of it's $100,O0O,00O capltai
| stock over S97. 100000 was exchanged
| in 1900 according to the government
fieures. for stock in nineteen other cor
/ norations engaged in the various
4 branches of the petroleum business,
THE American Tobacco company IS
/ alleged to be both holding ana an
i onerating compS ny. 1t is actively en-
! ya red in the tobacco business, owns
Re own shops and sells the manufac-
tured PRODUCTS.
Raw Product Produced
T., the ease of the Standard Oil
company the raw product is to an ex-
tent produced Ly the corporatlon' N
| that of the tobacco combination the
| raw material is purchased.
While the Sherman law does s nos
specifically prohibit the organizao,on
! Of holding companies, the supreIne
court declare in the Northern Se-
cnrities case that the holding COM
| rouv constituted an organization ia
| restraint of trade and commerce.
! THE government charges tnat lronl
the time of the organization ol eno
/
nonoIv was obtained; that in fact ior
Iears ior to that virtual monopoly
| Iod existed. and that the various
9orms which the conspiracy allegeu
| against the oil company mas eaHSls NJ
have been merely adaptations tho .ho
changing needs ana cohoi'ions
times. :. o11ao,a5 +baS
In the Tobacco case it is alleged tnau
| originaIIv when the merger was con-
summated in 1890 there was nnonop-
DIV onlv in the cigarette traoe. Ine
Attendants claim that the control ol
the business then secured has since ina-
terially dwindled.
No Longer Competitors
The standard Oils counsel nave con-
/ +aoded that the corporations which IN
1900 entered into the agreements coih-
nlained of had long since ceased 10 DO
councillors In the Tobacco case eno
attendants contend that their acts na.e
heen confined merely to- the acqulsi-
Jon of manufacturing property; that
manufacturing corporations are under
no legal obligation to compete-the
prohibition being against specinc
| agreements a to suppress compelltloh'
non-competition as the result OF tne
acquisition of property is, the detend-
ants insist, not VIOLATION OF tne sea'-
ute. A., 49,
j oosas lies in the fact that the Standard
oil company is charged with offense
| ogoinst the Sherman law alone; the
Tobacco corporations are charged with
offending also the Wilson tariff act OF
1894 which extended the application OF
the antitrust law to any conspiracy IN
restrain of trade, one party to whieh
was an importer.
American Laws Rule
Furthermore, the government is seek
ing to establish the rule that cor
noration entering into an agreement
abroad which in purpose contllcts with
American law gains no immunity from
the fact that such an agreement is law
ful in the foreign country
| II is suggested that the commodities
handled by the Standard OIL company
NAV be more properly called "neces-
saries of life" than those dealt in by
the Tobacco corporation.
Attorney General Wickersham In mis-
argument of the Iopacco case OK
nressed the opinion that different ell
ement would enter into the trade in an
absolute necessity of life, as distin-
guished from one that is not a neces-
sitv. because such a commodity was
charged with a public use. just as
much, if not more. than what is called
nublic utility companies"
AZ a result of the hearing in the
c,rcuit court other differences were Ell
ther made or became apparent.
In the Tobacco suit the court did
not and sufficient evidence to hold that
there was a monopoly in the trade in
question, although it did hold that
there was a combination in restraint Of
trade. In the Standard Oil case the
court was unanimous in finding that
there was ar illegal monopoly in adj
dition to there being a conspiracy.