The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1911-05-18

SUMMARY OF DECISION.

= i
SUMMARY OF DECISION.
In the Standard Oil Decision, the
supreme court holds:
That the Standard Oil Com :
pany is monopoly in restraint Of .
trade.
That this giant corporation must :
be dissolved within six months.
Corporations whose contracts
are "not unreasonably restrictive" =
of competition are not affected. :
= \
Washington, D. G. - The Standard
Oil company of New Jersey and it's 19
subsidiary companies were declared by
the supreme court of the United States
to be a conspiracy and combination in
restraint of trade. They also were
held to be monopolizing interstate
commerce in violation of the Sherman
antitrust law. The dissolution of the
combination was ordered to take place
within six months.
Thus ended the tremendous struggle
on the part of the government to put
down by authority of law a combina-
ton which it asserted was menace.
At the same time the court inter
preted the Sherman antitrust law so
as to limit its application to acts of
undue" restraint of trade and not
soning of the court in arriving at it's
this point that the only discordant
note was heard in the court.
Justice HarIan's Contention.
Justice Harlan dissented, asserting
that cases already decided by the
court had determined once for all that
the words undue or unreasonable"
and similar words, were not in the
statute. He declared that the rea-
soning fthe court in arriving at it's
finding was in effect legislation that
belonged in every instance to con-
gress and not to the courts.
The opinion of the court was an
nounced by Chief Justice White. In
printed form, it contained more than
10000 words.
Distinguished Audience Present.
Before him sat distinguished au-
country. Senators and representatives
left their respective chambers in the
capitol to listen to the epoch-making
decision of the court. Most eager to
hear were Attorney General Wicker
sham and Frank B. kellogg, special
counsel of the government, who had
conducted the great fight against the
Standard Oil. None of ne brilliant
array of counsel for the corporation or
individual defendants were present.
BY far the greater portion of the
opinion of the chief justice was de-
voted to the justification of the court
in requiring that the rule of rea-
son" be applied to restraints of trade
before they were held to be violations
OF the Sherman antitrust law. The
court found this justification in the
common law of the forefathers and
in the general law of the country at
the time the Sherman antitrust law
was passed. This meaning of the
words, according to the court, called
for exercise of reasoning in determin-
ing what restraint on trade were pro-
hibited.
Chief Justice Reviews Proceedings.
Chief Justice White in his opinion
first reviewed the preliminary pro-
ceedingS in the case in the circuit
court of the United States for the
Eastern district Of Missouri He re-
stated the essential points in the bill
of the government asking for the dis
solution of the Standard Oil and the
answer questioning the jurisdiction of
the court and denying the claims of
the government.
He then came to the arguments as
to the law and tho facts in the case,
saying that out of the ''jungles'' Of
law and facts both sides were engaged
only in one thing and that was that
the determination of the controversy
rested upon the proper construction
and application of the first and second
sections of the antitrust acts. The
views of the two sides, as to the law,
the chief justice said, were as wide
apart as the poles. The same he said,
was true as to the facts.
Prosecutions View Considered.
Thus on the one hand with relent-
less pertinacity and minuteness of
analysis said the chief justice, at
is insisted that the facts established
that the assailed combination took it's
birth in purpose to unlawfully ac-
quire wealth by depressing the pub
lie and destroying the just rights of
others, and that its entire career ex-
emplifies an memorable carrying out of
such wrongful intents, since, it is as
serted, the pathway of the combination
from the beginning of the time of the
filing of the bill is marked with con-
slant proofs of wrong inflicted upon
the public and is strewn with the
wrecks resulting from crushing out,
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