The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1911-05-17
STANDARD OIL BEATEN
U. s. Supreme Court Decides
Against the Giant Corporation.

Court Holds That the Company Is a
Conspiracy In Restraint Of Trade
and Monopoly In contravention Of
the Sherman Antitrust Law - Is
Given Six Months to Separate Itself
Into SO Constituent Parts.
Washington, May 16.-The supreme
court of the United States yesterday
ordered the dissolution Of the Stand
ard OIL company OF New Jersey. In
connection with this decree it also
handed down its Interpretation of the
Sherman antitrust law, long awaited
by an anxious business world
In this. the first Of its big decisions
I'm the antitrust cases, the court holds
the Standard Oil company is con-
spiracy in resraint OF trade and
monopoly in contravention of the
Sherman antitrust law Thus, after
a fight of many years in which every
obstacle known to the legal profession
has been interposed, the federal gov
ernment has finally succeeded in its
effort to compel this giant corporation
Ia cast off its holding company and
again to separate itself into its SO con-
stituent parts.
Circuit Courts Decree Modified.
To accomplish this gigantic under
taking the court sets period Of six
months. This Is an extension Of five
months over the time allotted in the
dissolution decree of the lower court
The decree of the circuit court was
modified by the supreme court in only
one other particular, The supreme
court orders that the Standard Oil
company and its subsidiaries shall not
be excluded from Interstate commerce
pending the putting its house in or
der.
The decision of the court in regard
to the general Interpretation of the
Sherman antitrust law was awaited
with greater anxiety by the business
world than the finding of fact in the
Standard OIL case. The court holds
that 1t is necessary to distinguish be-
tween reasonable" and "unreasona-
BILE" restraint of trade as covered by
the Sherman antitrust law.
The effect of the decision as viewed
by distinguished lawyers, is to insert
the world unreasonable" into the gen.
eral prohibition in the Sherman anti
trust law against combinations in re-
straint of trade. The supreme court
has thus eliminated the uncertainty
with which all business combinations
regarded the Sherman antitrust law.
and in the future 1t will be up to the
government to draw the line between
good and bad trusts.
Application Of Antitrust Law.
The antitrust law as construed by
the court does not apply to all COM
binations, contracts or acts In re-
straint of trade, but only to those who
are shown to be unreasonable and in
which the intent to form an unlawful
conspiracy or monopoly can bo proved
or inferred. The decision Of the court
and its general effect was regarded
in Washington as distinctly reassurlng
to business.
The decision of the court was read
by Chief Justice White. 1t was unani-
nous with the exception Of Associate
Justice Harlan's dissent. Justice Har-
lan's words were marked by biting
sarcasm. He contended the court had
not gone far enough, and he objected
particularly to the words of the chief
justice in constituting the scope and
purpose Of the antitrust act. He de-
clared that the court had rendered an
opinion that reversed an unbroken
line of decisions for 10 years past. He
criticized the corporation lawyers
who. failing to get an amendment to
law through congress, came to the
United States courts for relief. He
added with manifest sarcasm that it
was becoming fashionable to amend
the constitution and the federal stat.
uteS by judicial constructions.
1t was the Interpretation of the
Sherman law so as to apply only to
unreasonable combinations to which
Associate Justice Harlan objected so
vigorously.
Attorney General Greatly Pleased.
Attorney General Wickersham and
other officers of the administration do
not, however, share the gloom that
seemed to enshroud Associate Justice
Harlan. The attorney general and
Frank B. Kellogg, who was special
counsel for the government in the
preparation and trial of the case, de-
clared themselves greatly pleased over
the decision. The attorney general,
m public statement holds that sub
stantially~every proposition contended
for by the government was affirmed by
the supreme court. The attorney gen.
eral acknowledges that his Office will
now be restricted in bringing actions
under the Sherman law to combina.
tions which are unreasonably or un-
duly restraining interstate trade or