The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1911-06-02
GOVERNMENT WINS IN
TOBACCO TRUST CASE
COMBINATION DECLARED ILLEGAL
BYC. S. SUPREME COURT.
Ordered to DiStintegrate in Harmon!
With Sherman Act Within Six or
Eight Months.


Eight Months.
WASHINGTON. May 29.-The Tobacco
Trust decision is characterized by At
tornev General Wickersham as most
comprehensive and sweeping victory
for the government.
The trust is held to be a combina-
tion in restraint Of trace-a monopoly
in violation of the law.
The decision affects 81 American
CORPORATIONS, two English corpora
tons and 80 individual defendants.
If. at the end of six or eight months,
the corporations fail to bring themsel-
YES within the law, a receivership and
dissolution by court DEGREES will fol-
low.
The trust is held to have been gull
ty of intimidating, and clearly to have
shown a purpose to stihe competition.
Chief Justice White announced the
decision, which was practically unan-
imous, although Justice Harlan dis
sented on several points.
As in the Standard Oil case, Justice
Harlan resents the application Of the
"rule of reason" to the Sherman anti
trust law.
The court having held the defend
ant corporation guilty of conscious
wrong-doing. Justice Harlan is not
at all anxious to perpetuate any. new
combination growing out of them.
Washington, May 29.-!The govern
ment today won a sweeping victory
over the so-calied Tobacco Trust, "
when the supreme court held the
American Tobacco company and its
allied corporations to be operating in
vic ltion of the Sherman antitrust
law.
By directing that the combination be
forbidden the privilege of Interstate
commerce or be placed in the hands OF
a receiver unless it disintegrates in
harmony with the law within six, or
at the most. eight months, the court
is regarded to have dealt with the to-
bacco CORPORATIONS more draStically
than with the Standard Oil company
~-of New Jersey, whose dissolution was
ordered two weeks ago.
Two Sections Violated.
Both the first and second sections
of the Sherman antitrust law have
been violated by the so-called Tobacco
trust, according to the court. Not only
has it, in the eyes of the court re-
strained wrongfully and unlaWf1ily
interstate commerce, but it has at
tempted to monopolize the tobacco
business to the injury Of the public
and of its competitors.
While the decree was regarded as
unusually severe, at the same time
there was a touch Of leniency in not
making the combination an outlaw
now The various elements Of the
coordination are to be given an oppor-
tun!ty, under the supervision Of the
United States circuit court for the
Southern district of New York, of re-
creation so that there may be brought
about "a new condition which shall
be honestly in harmony with, and
not repugnant to the law"
Opinion by Chief Justice.
The opinion OF the court was an
nouncedt by Chief Justice White, who
also delivered the opinion of the court
in the Standard Oil case.
The entire court agreed that the
American Tobacco. company violated
the Sherman antitrust law, but Asso-
ciate Justice Harlan dissented from
the repeated Interpretation of the
Sherman antitrust law so as TO call
for the application of the 'rule of rea-
son" in determining what restraints
of trade were forbidden by the act. In
this respect the division of the court
was the same as in the Standard Oil
case. Justice Harlan also took issue
with the rest of the court as to the
reorganization Of the tobacco COM
pany, saying that he had found moth
ing in the record which made him "at
ali anxious to perpetuate any new
combination among the companies
which the court conceded at all times
exhibited a conscious wrong DOING
Adheyes TO "Rule Of Reason"
The court reiterated its determina-
ton to follow "the rule of reason" in