The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-05-31
TOBACCO TRUST DISSOLVED.

| IOBACCO IhOOI
The decision of the u, ). supreme
Court in The Tobacco Trust case IS
sweeping enough in way, and yet
thcrc is much that might have been
desired by way Of clinchinG the propo'
sitions laid down. The trust is held to
be unlawful, consciously violative OF
law, and therefore its dissolution is
| ordered And right there comes IN
proposition which wo suppose to be
quite unusual i'll judicial action. The
court. while dissolving the Tobacco
Trust in IT'S present form, remands the
case involving its existence TO the Car
cult Court of the Second New York
district. so that there may be recreated
E'out of the clements now composing
tho trust new condition which shall
be honestly in harmony with and not
repugnant TO the law
With his remand the reference means
a direction by the Supreme Court TO the
tho Tobacco Trust may be recreated
couformab bic TO law, so that lt may con
tinue to exist in that new form, dong
a business substantially AS heretofore.
No wonder Judge Harlan finds this a
matter for dissent, while agreeing In
the main with the conclusions Of the
coui. He says: 81 have found moth
ing in the record which makes me at
all anxious to perpetuate any new com
bination among these companies which
the court comedies had, at ali times
exhibited conscious wrong doing.
Surely that is very plain speaking, and
we imagine that the common sense view
of the country will agree with Judge
Harlan
Whether ii is the business Of court
TO suggest, when a culprit IS caught
red-handcd, that he might be able 10 so
renew his activities as TO make them
conform to the law, we submit that
such thing is extremely unusual.
Courts, rs a rule, deal with conditions
as they are; they decide cases as those
eases are brought before them, and do
icctural or possible means of amending
illegal acts in such way as TO make
them legal. They condemn the illegal
ity, direct that it be stopped. and that,
cedure; those condemned arc left to
their own devices TO get under the
shelter of the law, as the court S order
was in the Standard Oil case. For Il
court to undertake to rehabilitate
trust which it has found illegal, and
10 put in the way Of right doing an of
fensive tust which it has just found
guilty of wrong doing, is a curious
thing to sec, No wonder Judge Harlan
drops the matter with the statement
that he has no desire 10 see the rec
nabilitation of this wrong headed trust
in any form whatever.
We do not comprehend on what
ground Attorney General Wickersham
claims a sweeping victory for the gov
cnment in this ease He was far more
justified in claiming it in the Standard
Oil case; and yet in that case he was
a little doubtful of his victory. II
seems as though he might be even more
doubtful Of his victory in this case,
since the court almost Immediately
points out that there may be way 10
overcome Its ruling against the trust,
aud directs the court below TO find that
way. The Standard Oil decision was
universally approved. The business OF
the country found it was not injured,
and assented readily to the reasonings
and conclusions of the court. But this
case viii 90 very far, in our Judgment.
TO dim the satisfaction with which the
former decision was received, while it
seems TO open the way for An appeal 10
the court from the Standard Oil com.
pany for like order in its own behalf
to that Just made TO renew the tobacco
monopoly,