The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-12-06


court the underlined and nnIIniHl IS
erection to determine Wh"thrr i '',''>+ "l
restraint Of trade is within the terfnS
of the statute This is wholly untrue,
A reasonable restraint or tra;.e al com"
mon law is well understood and Is
clearly defined 1t does not rest in the
discretion Of the cuurt. 1t must be
limited to accomplish the purpose OF
lawful main contract to which in order
that it shall be enforceable at all 1t
must be incidental. If it exceed the
needs of that contract it is void.
The test of reasonableness was never
applied by the court at comman law
to contracts or combinations or con.
spiracies in restraint Of trade whose
purpose was or whose necessary effect
would be to stife competition. to con.
troll prices or establish monopolies.
The courts never assumed power to
say that such contracts or combina-
lions or conspiracies might be lawful
if the parties to them we're only mod
crate in the use Of the power thus Sc
cured and did not exact from the pub
lie too great and exorbitant prices. It
is true that many theorists and others
engaged in business violating the stat
ute have hoped that some such line
could be ORA wn by courts. but no court
of authority has ever attempted It
Certainly there IL nothing In the deci-
sions Of the latest two cases from
which such a dangerous theory of in.
dicial discretion in enforcing this stat.
ute can derive the slightest sanction
Force and Effectiveness OF Statute Q
Matter Of Growth.
We have been twenty one years max
ing this statute effective for the pur-
poses for which it was enacted. Inc
knight case was discQuraging and
seemed to remit to the states the whole
available power to attack and suppress
the evils of the trusts. Slowly. howev'
er, the error Of that judgment was cor
rected, and only in the last three or
four years has the heavy hand OF the
law been laid upon the great illegal
combinations that have exercised such
an absolute dominion over many OF our
industries. Criminal prosecutions have
been brought. and a number are pend
ing, but juries have felt averse to con-
victing for Jail sentences and judges
have been most reluctant to impose
such sentences on men of respectable
standing in society whose ofense has
been regarded as merely statutory.
Still. as the otfense becomes better un-
derstood and the committing OF 1t par
takes more of studied and deliberate
defiance Of the law we can be conf
dent that juries will convict individu-
ais and that Jail sentences will be lm-
posed.
The Remedy In Equity by Dissolution.
In the Standard Oil case the supreme
and circuit courts found the combina-
ton to be monopoly Of the interstate
business of refining. transporting and
marketing petroleum and its products.
effected and maintained through thlr'
ty-seven different corporations. the
stock of which was held by New Jer-
sew company 1t in effect commanded
the dissolution of this combination. d.
rected the transfer and pro rata dlstrl-
button by the New Jersey company OF
the stock held by it in the thirty seven
corporations to and among its STOCK
holders. and the corporations and indi-
vidual defendants were enjoined from
conspiring or combining to restore
such monopoly. and all agreements be-
tween the subsidiary corporations tend
ing to produce or bring about further
violations of the act were enjoined.
In the tobacco case the court fouhe
that the individual defendants. tweH-
ty-nine in number, had been engaged
in a successful effort to acquire com-
plete dominion over the manufacture.
sale and distribution Of tobacco In this
country and abroad and that this had
been done by combinations made witS
a purpose and effect to stit1e competi-
ton, control prices and establish
monopoly. not only in the manufacture
of tobacco, but also of tin foil and llc'
orice used in its manufacture and OF
it's products Of cigars, cigarettes anu
SluuS. lie JODdSSO Suit p'SSSnNSA -
far more complicated and difficult case
than the Standard Oil suit for decree
which would etfectuate the. will OF the
court and end the violation Of the stat
ute. There was here no single holt
ing company. as In the case OF ths
Standard Oil trust. The main company
was the American Tobacco company.
manufacturing. selling and holding
company. The plan adopted to de-
stroy the combination and restore com
petition involved the redivision OF the
capital and plants Of the whole trust
between some Of the companies con
stituting the trust and new companies
organized for the purposes Of the de
cree and made parties to it and NUN
bering, new and old. fourteen.
Situation After Readjustment.
The American Tobacco company
(old). readjusted capital $92.O0o.Ooo;
the Liggett & Meyers Tobacco company
new, capital SCI. 600 600; the p. Lori
lard company new, capital $4,000,
600. and the r. J. Reynolds Tobacco
oopnDopv fol6N conitol 81 5C5 600 are