The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-12-05

needs OF Nnat contract II lS NOlu.
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 stine competition. to con
troll prices or establish monopolies
The courts never assumed power to
say that such contracts or combina-
tlons or conspirncies 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. 1t
is true that many theorists and others
engaged in business violating the stat
ute have hoped that some such line
could be drawn by courts. but no court
OF authority has ever attempted it.
Certainly there IS nothing in the deci-
Iions of the latest two cases from
which such q dangerous theory of iu-
dicia discretion in enforcing this stat
ute can derive the slightest sanction.
Force and Effectiveness of Statute
Matter Of Growth.
We have been twenty-one years max.
ing this statute effective for the pur.
poses for which it was enacted. The
Knight case was discouraging and
seemed TO remit to the states the whole
available power TO attack and suppress
the evils of the trusts Slowly. howev'
or. 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
heen brought. and a number are pend
ing but iuries have felt avcrSe TO con
victing for Jail sentences and judges
have been most reluctant to impose
such sentences on men Of respectable
standing IN society whose olfense has
been regarded as merely statutory.
Still as the ofrense becomes better un-
derstood and the committing of It 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 im-
posed.
The Remedy In Equity by Dissolution.
In the Standard Oil case the supreme
and circuit courts found the combina'
tion to be Il monopoly Of the interstate
business Of refining, transporting ana
marketing petroleum and its products
effected and maintained through thir'
ty-seyen different corporations. the
stock of which was held by New Jer-
sey company. It in effect commanded
the dissolution OF this combination, di-
rected the transfer and pro rata dlstri-
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
consplring 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 found
that the individual defendants. TWEEN
ty-nine In number. had been engaged
I'm a successful effort TO acquire com
sale and distribution of tobacco In this
country and abroad and that this had
been done by combinations made with
a purpose and effect to stile compei-
tion. control prices ana establish
monopoly not only in the manufacture
of tobacco, but also of tin foil and lie
orice used in its manufacture and Of
a i, - .ff "a
snuffs. The tobacco suit presented
far more complicated and difficult case
than the Standard Oil suit for Il decree
which would effectuate the will of tile
court and end the violation Of the stat
ute. There was here no single hold
! ing company, rs In the case of the
| 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 rediyision of the
capital and plants of the whole trust
between some of the companies con
stituting the trust ana new companies
organized for the purposes Of the de-
| cree anu llaAt lAlllt0 W IL hHN nun
berng. new and old. fourteen.
Situation After Readjustment.
The American Tobacco company
old. readlustod capital S02,0O0.0OO;
the Liggett & Meyers Tobacco company
new. capital $G7,OO0OO0; the +. Iorll-
lard company new, capital SiT.OCO,-
coo. and the II. j. Reynolds Tobacco
company (oldl. capital SI.J2J.OO0. are
chiefly engaged in the manufacture
and sale Of chewing and smoking to-
bacco and cigars. The former one tin
foil company Is divided into two, one
of SS25,O00 capital and the other Of
100000 The one snuff company IS
divided into three companies, one with
capital OF $l5,0O0000. another with a
capital Of SsO0000O and a third with
capital of $S,000,OOO. The llcorlce
companies are two. one with a capital
of S5.75S 800 and another with CAPT
tai OF S2,O0000O There Is also the
British American Tobacco company Il
British corporation. doing business
abroad with capital of $2G,O00,00O.
the Porto Ricnn Tobacco company,
! with n capital of 81 500. 900. and the