The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1911-12-08
Only Matter Touched On In Presidents
Message to Congress
Additional Legislation to STRENGTHEN p,o.o..
Statutes Is Recommended Defends Stand
ard Oil and Tobacco Decisions

message, which was read in both houses
Of congress Tuesday, deals exclusively
With the antitrust statute. The MESA 20
IN part Is as follows:
To the Senate and House of Represent
atiyes: This message is the first of sew
era which shall send to congress during
the interval between the opening of its
regular session and It's adjournment for
the Christmas holidays. The amount of
information to be communicated as to
the operations of the government, the
number of important subjects calling for
comment by the executive, and the trans
mission to congress of exhaustive re-
ports by special commissions make 1t i'm
possible to include In one message of a
reasonable length a discussion of the top
ics that ought to be brought to the at
tention of the national legislature at its
first regular session.
The Antitrust Law-The Supreme
Court Decisions.
In May last the Supreme court handed
down decisions in the suits in equity
brought by the United States to eniotn
the further maintenance of the Standard
OIL trust and OF the American Tobacco
trust, and to secure their dissolution. The
decisions are epoch-making and serve to
sdyIse the business world authoritatively
Of the scope and operation of the anti
trust law of 1890 The decisions do not
depart in any substantial way from the
previous decisions of the court In constru-
ing and applying this important statute,
but they clarity those important decisions
by further defining the already admitted
exceptions to the literal construction of
the act. BY the DEGREES, they furnish
useful precedent as to the proper method
Of dealing with the capital and property
Of Illegal trusts. These decisions sug-
gest the need and wisdom of additional
Or supplemental legislation to make It
easier for the entire business community
to square with the rule of action and
legality thus finally established and to
preserve the benefit, freedom and spur
Of reasonable competition without loss of
real efficiency or progress.
No Change in the Rule of Decison--
Merely In Form Of Expression.
The statute in its first section declares
10 be Illegal every contract, combination
IN the form of trust or otherwise, or con-
spiracy, in restraint of trade or COM
merce among the several states or with
foreign nations" and in the second, de-
rlares guilty of a misdemeanor every per-
son who shall monopolize or attempt to
monopollze or combine or conspire with
any other person to monopolize any part
u the trade or commerce of the several
states or with foreign nations"
In two early cases, where the statute
vas invoked to enjoin a transportation
agreement between interstate railroad
companies, II was held that it was no de-
tense to show that the agreement as to
rates complained of was reasonal at COM
mon law, because II was said that the
statute was directed against all con-
tracts and combinations in restraint OF
trade whether reesonal at common law
Or not. 1t was plain from the record,
hot fhA ofa nj al TNn6
d in those cases would not have been
deemed reasonable at common law.
II has been said that the court, by in
Producing into the construction Of the
statute common law distinctions, has
smasculated 1t. This is obviously untrue.
BY its judgment every contract and COM
nnation in restraint OF interstate trade
made with the purpose, or necessary eff
fect Of controlling prices by sitting COM
petition, or of establishing in whole or in
part monopoly OF such trade, is con-
demned by the statute. The most eX-
IRENE critics cannot instance a case that
ought to be condemned under the statute
which Is not brought within its terms as
thus construed &..
The suggestion is also made that the Su-
Peme court by it's decisions in the last
TWO cases has committed to the court the
underlined and unlimited discretion to de-
errnine whether a case of restraint Of
Tade Is within the terms of the statute.
ms is wholly untrue. A reasonable re-
suaint Of trade at common law is well
Understood and is clearly defined. 1t does
not rest in the discretion of the court. 1t
must be limited to accomplish the purpose
lawful main contract to which, in
fuer that 1t shall be enforceable at all,
must be incidental. If it exceeds the
nseos OF that contract 1t is void.
The RAn,A5u L. Ea,,;&D, H., 9IseoIu%Inp
n the Standard Oil case the Supreme
sna circuit courts found the combination
. De monopoly OF the interstate bust
a ~ OF refining, transporting. and mar
Asung petroleum and its products, effect
and maintained through thIrty-seven
saierenf corporations, the stock of which
IS neld by New Jersey company. 1t
Az eHect commanded the dissolution OF
uls combination. directed the transfer
aa pro-rata distribution by the New Jer-
company of the stock held by 1t in
n ~ tnirty-seven corporations to and
al saons Its stockholders, and the corpora
ssns and Individual defendants were en-
n s ,.., from conspiring or combining to
SUITE such monopoly; and all agree
N 49,, s between the subsidiary corporations
,,hs TO produce or bring about further
Apons Of the act were enjoined.
81 NJ. me Tobacco case. the court found
& NJ ene Individual defendants twenty
~ ~ m number. had been engaged in
seSsrul effort to acquire complete do
~ ass aSh over the manufacture. sale. and
,na ouuon OF tobacco in this country
~ ~ abroad. and that this had been done
# "a onoinattons made with a purpose
~ ns. erect to stifie competition. control
81 s,- and establish a monopoly, not
NJ. u the manufacture OF tobacco, but
nsD,, ~ un-foir and licorice, used in its
BY n a. and of its products Of CT
a. M, cigarettes and snuffs. The tobacco
al ma sm1ssentend a far more complicated
81 nj, sLncult case than the Standard OIL
# NJ LOT r decree which would efectuate
# N. ~ OF the court and end the viola
@ Hp.,s me statute. There was here no
# Wsh. snoldiHS company as in the case
# pssx standard Oil trust. The main COM
# eny vas the American Tobacco COM
# d - manufacturing. selling and hold
M any - pany. The plan adopted to de-
M uuo, y, combination and restore compe-
ISL ii ~ Noived the redivision of the capt.
ON. plants of the whole trust between
@ tcst = the companies constituting the
8 he n,- new companies organized for
3 IL, ,p'ses of the decree aud made par
hur,ssN and numbering. new and old,
N. ~, original suit there were twenty