Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1911-12-07

& Washington. .-Bresident Taft's annual
nesase. which was road In both houses
o. congress Tuesday. deals exclusively
With the anti-trust statute. The message
n part ID a. follows:
To the Senate and House Of Represent
.-Intiyek;- This message II the first Of sew
efaf which I shall send to congress during
the interval between the opening Of its
regular session and Its adjournment for
the Christmas holidays. The amount OF
Information to be communicated ~ TO
the operations of the governmrnt. 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 It Inn
pcssibie 70 include In one message OF .
reasonable length discussion OF the top
ScH that ought to BE- brought to the at
fention Of the nationei legislature at Its
hrst regular session.
The Antitrust Law-rhe Supreme
Court Decisions.
In May last the Supreme court handed
down decisions IN the suits in equity
brought by the United States to enjoin
the further maintenance Of the Standard
Oh trust and Of the American Tobacco
trust and 70 secure their dissolution. The
advise the business world authoritativejy
Of the scope and operation Of the anti
trust law Of 1880. 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 tho 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 maize II
eesier for the entire business community
70 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 Decision
Merely Ia Form Of Expression.
The. statute In its first .section declares
~ - Illegal every contract. combination
81 the form Of trust Or Otherwise. or con-
op1racy. IN restraint OF trade or COM
p3ercc nuaopx the several states OF with
fuFsiGn nations" and IN The second. de-
cI4gee guilty Of . ruisdemeenor every per-
WHo 4NAu fi0HopVt11 0f attc3hPe "
,6UEbof1D8 or c0nb1no4 or couEpire with
ouv other person 70 monopoIise any part
- She trade or commerce os the several
1fAtoo or With foreign nationN"
n tpo early cases. whore the statute
vos invoked to en5ofn . transportation
TX Anen< between intersfats railroad
<c<6paniH. III was held that # was no de-
Ci6oe 20 show that the agreement al to
p1(og coo0piajned OF was reasonal at COM
Ii6n 1eu, bscause II wPs said that the
o<ntote was directed against all con-
frocto and combinations In restraint or
trade whefher reasonal at common law
O. not. Il was plain from the record.
however. that the contracts complained
q n those cases would not have been
0ssnsed reasonable at common law.
1l has boen said that the court. by in
frod,scfnG Into the construction OF the
&16ke common Law distinctions. has
(njoocu1ated e. This II obviously untrue.
~ ~ 5udxnent every contract and COM
2inotfon n reetraint OF Interstate trade
odo With tfs purpose. or necessary ef-
~ 6f con3roil1ng prices by stinng COM
r11<1bn. o. Of establishing In whole or In
yH monopoly Of such trade. In con-
d imno6 By the statute. The most cx-
4 {Gff5e critIics cannot instance a case that
ought to DO condemned under tho statute
which 10 not brought within Its terms %
thus construed.
The suggestion is also made that the Su-
preme court by its decisions In the last
two cases has committed to the court the
underlined ard unlimited discretion to de-
termine whether case OF restraint OF |
trade is within the terms OF the statute /
This IL wholly untrue. A reasonable re-
straInt Of trade at common law Is wen
understood and Is clearly defined. II does
not rest In The discretion OF the court. II /
must be limited to accomplish the purpose
pf a lawful main contract to which, In |
prder that II shall be enforceable at all.
il must he Incidental II II exceeds the
needs OF that contract II In void.
rhs Remedy In Equity by Dissolution.
In the Standard OIL case the Supreme |
md circuit courts found the combination |
to be a monopoly of the Interstate busi- |
ness of refining, transporting. and mar |
keting petroleum and its products. effect |
10 and maintained through thirty-seven
Drerent corporations. the stock OF which
n held by New Jersey company. ~
al effect commanded the dissolution or
his combination. directed the transfer
md pro-rata distribution by the New Jer-
~ company OF the stock held by It In
IA thirsysDegsn corporations TO and
moue IL stockhr's-rs. and the corpora
ON ana fudiv.dual defendants were en-
Ired from conspIrins or combining 70
s6oro s.ich monopoly: and all agree |
ents hekxen the subsidiary corporations
nd5nx 10 produces or bring about further |
blaffone of tke act were enjoined.
n Tie Tobacco case. the court found |
1t ttbe Individual defendants. twenty !
u - number. had been engaged In
cesseul effort to acquire complete do
A. g. CnIA orxA
ributIon Of tobacco In this country |
abroad. and that this had been done
- combinations made with a purpose |
effect to stifie competition. control |
les. and establish n monopoly. not |
in the manufacture OF tobacco. but |
of tin-foil and lcorice. used in Its |
hufacture and OF It's products OF CT |
cigarettes and snuf,s. The tobacco |
presentend far more complicated
difficult case than the Standard OIL
flor a decree which would erectuate
vsll Of the court and end the viola
N the statute. There vas here no |
holding company as In the case
Btandard OIL trust. The main cola
As the American Tobacco cofu-
misunderstanding. selling and holf- |
my The plan adopted to de- |
cmblnation and restore coups- |
ved the rediyIsion Of the capi- /
q OF the whole trust hetween
companies constituting tile
w companies organized for
" the decree and made par
numbering. new and old.
suit there were twenty
kwho were charged with
ators through whom the
acquired and exercised
Ter Doubts.
d he would go