The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-01-02
Supre me Court Will
Hear Nv o Famous
Cases Reargued.
CRUCIAL LAW
TEST INVOLVED
If Standard Oil and Tobacco
Trusts Are Dissolved, Gov
eminent May Be Compelled
to License Corporations
That Legitimate Business
May Be Carried On.

WASHINGTON. January 1.-prosecu-
tons by the government, designed TO
accomplish the dissolution of "Standard
OH and OF the American Tobacco or
CARNATIONS. cmbodying the greatest
antitrust! tight OF the generation
VIII DO taken up for the second time
py tho Supreme Court of the ITnIted
states at the beginning of its work
~, me new year. Continuing its con-
stuelauon OF affairs of government, the
court Immediately afterwards will rive
us attention TO the constitutionality ~
the corporation tax provisions OF tho
PAYNE Adrich tariff act
.Nll three cases attracted world wide
attention when first presented TO the
court about year ago. With the OBJ
lect OF procuring consideration by o.
full bench. they were sci for re- ar,-n;
inent on January 3. Intervening cases
VIII cause delay until probably Jan
uary o when 1t is believed the arru-
lHcnts In the tobacco case will begin
mo Standard oil and the corporation
tax arguments will follow. About
three DAYS VIII be required for each.
Crucial Test.
The Standard Oil and tho tobacco case.
put me sherman antitrust law to the
crucial test to which 1t has been sub
Jccleo during the twenty years of it's
existence. The corporation tax cases
p'aee on trial the power of the FcderaI
government over corporations Tha
contention has been made that IL tho
Standard Oil and tobacco organizations
are dissolved the government will be
forced TO license corporations i'm ordcr
TO allow legitimate business In bc c.r-
ried on. The corporation tax decision
may define the power of the FedcraI
government over corporations so as "a
suiae TINS proposed subsequent legis-
Id tion. incidentally, about sa5. 900. o0O
ily In taxes depend upon the de-
cision. -
Although the tobacco case is to l,e
| argued first, the Standard oirsuit lias
attracted more attention. Attorney
General Wickersham has rofcrrcd TO
| the Standard Oil case us probably the
most important that ever came before
{ he court I,
The Standard Oil suit was Instituted
IN 1906, in the Circuit Court of the
United states for the Eastern Division
OF me Eastern judicial District of Mis-
souri,. The Federal government was
INC complaining party. 1t claimed that
me standard OH Company Of New .Ier.
sey. as holding company acnuirca
siacc 1899 and held by direct stock
ownership. sixty-fivc companies. Thesa
slNty-hve 1t was alleged. owned the
stock of forty-ninc other companies
making total of ia companies. The
government asked that this organiza-
non be dissolved under the Sherman
antitrust law.
l.oSes In Lower Court.
year was taken by the four Judges
III the Circuit Court to pass on the
case BY unanimous agreement
decree was entered by the court dis
sowing the organization, both because
IT was In restraint of Interstate com
tncrce' and because it was "attompt-
ms to monopolizc." Before the decree
became effective. an appeal carried tha
ease to the Supreme Court,
Tho tobacco case was instituted IN
l9"t. III the Circuit Ccsirt of tho United
states for the Southern District of New
YORK. Tho government here, too. was
INC complaining party. Allies in the
various branches of the tobacco bust
ness with combined assets of moro
than S+oO,OOo,0 900. constituted the or
ganization which the government
sought to have the court dissolve.
The four Judges each rendered sepa-
rate opinions in the tobacco case, but
three of them united. In a decree, hold
ms many OF the corporations had en-
tered into a combination ''In restrain
Of trade" in violation OF the first SOC
ton of the Sherman antitrust nct i
These three decreed the dissolution OF
, TINS combination. Other corporations.
including the United Cigar stores Com
pany, the Imperial Tobacco Company.
and the British American tobacco
company, were found no; TO be in tho
combination None was held 10 be
''monopolzing" in violation OF the sec
ond section of the Sherman antitrust
law.
Interpretation OF Ln,,
The application OF the Sherman anti
trust law to these two organizations
involves not only an investigation into
nc facts. hut includes an interprcta-
tion of the law itself The principal
uncertainties III regard TO the law
cluster around three words in the
statute. These words form the basis
OF three questions: What is Com
merce? What is restraint" OF trade
or commerce: What is it 10 ''monop
Ollie?
Around What is commerce.. tho
principal fight in the tobacco case
probably Is TO be found. The com
mercc which the government claims Is z
being restrained and mouopolized Is
not commerce. according ia the tobacco
attorneys, II is nothing more than tho
manufacture of an article which later
enters into commerce. The buiwark :
behind which the tobacco organization
is making its fight along this line Is
the famous knight decision, made oven Il
more famous by the reference to Ii by
former President Roosevelt last fall In
crticizing the decisions OF the Supreme
Court. In that case the court declined
TO suppress an alleged monopoly In
tie manufacture OF sugar, on the
ground that IT had authority to pro-
coed only ny way OF preventing monop- 81
olics in commerce The tobacco corr
porations claim that they are con-
ccrncd only incidentally in commerce.