The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-21
GOVERNMENT WINS POINT IN b|G SUIT Circuit Court Overrules
 Demurrers FULL BENCH RULES
Transportation of Passengers Be tween United States and Europe Part of Commerce and Gov
 ernment Has Authority

New York, December 20.-The full
 bench of the United States circuit court today oyerruled the demurrers inter- posed by the Hamburg-American Steamship company and other trans Atlantic lines which form the Atlantic conference" against the government s suit for dissolution of the conference. The governments contention is that the Icon ference" is, by reason of an al- legged pooling agreement on passenger rates a trust in restraint or trade and an injunction is asked to restrain the companies from further execution of the agreement.
 The demurrers alleged want of equity in the governments petition and fol- lowed closely the petitions in the to-
 bacco and Standard oil cases sustained by the United States supreme court in
 "the light of reason" and under the rule of reason"
 Judge Moves, who read the opinion, said the transportation of passengers between the United States and Europe forms part of the commerce of the United States with foreign nations and that Congress had the power to pro- hibit all contracts, combinations and conspiracies in restraint of the foreign commerce of the country. He declared the agreement between the companies affects foreign commerce because it's operatives divert a part thereof from the natural channels of free competi- tion into fixed channels assigned to the parties to the agreement. "The differ ent lines," the judge added, obtain not that which would come to them from their separate efforts, but pre- scribed and certain percentages of the traffic"
 Judge Moves said the contention that the combination was formed in for eign country was immaterial as it af- fected the foreign commerce of this country and was to be put in oper-
 ation here.
 "Citizens of foreign countries" he l added, "are not free to restrain or mon opolize the foreign commerce of this country by entering into combinations
 abroad nor by employing foreign ves- sells to effect their purpose
 | The court held further that the aver | ment of the government made out a | combination and conspiracy in viola tion of the antitrust laws.
 "Whether or not the statute is di- ! rected against all combinations in re- | straint of competition.' the opinion | concluded, "it Is certain that 1t em- | braces tn hose in which the purpose and effect are to charge arbitrary and ex- ] cessive transportation rates Whether | the statute be broadly or narrowly
 construed it is clear that it prohibits | com binations and conspiracies to re- strain the Business of transporting pas sengers when accompanied with acts of oppression and attempts to monop- olize."
 1 Announcement was then made that Ithe demurrer was overruled and the defendants were cited to answer the | governments complaint in February. | Former Senator John C. Spooner, in support of the demurrers contended that | the transportation of passengers from
 abroad was not the foreign commerce which the framers of the federal con-
 stitution sought to regulate and said | that the Sherman law was only in- tended to enforce an economic rule in
 regard to interstate commerce. He fur
 ther urged tliat if the court upheld the governments petition and the ports of the United States were closed to the
 defendants vessels until the companies
 ceased to operate under the "Atlantic
 conference' agreement such action would lead to serious internation-
 al complications between the United | States and the whole of Europe. He
 closed his argument by asserting that,
 Injunction or no injunction, the United
 States could not keep foreign ships i away from the American continent be- cause the ports of Montreal and Que bee would still be open to them.