The Holt County sentinel., 1911-07-14
HOME TELEPHONE SYSTEM
CONTRACTS DECIDED VAL.
I'D BY SUPREME COURT.
IMPORTANT ANTITRUST DECI-
SION. TELEPHONE COMPETI-
TON FIRMLY ESTABLISHED.
CONTRACTS MADE BY INDE.
PENDENTs IN MISSOURI, VAL
I'D, SAY SUPREME JUDGES.

| In a recent unanimous decision the
Missouri supreme court holds that ex.
elusive physical connection contracts
between Missouri independent tele.
phone companies are valid. The deci.
sion was handed down Monday. July
3, and Is attracting attention In all
parts of the state. since its effect Is to
bind together all the independent
companies In the state In continu.
Gus long distance service In competi.
tion with the He'll companies and at
the same time continues the local
ownership Of the various Independent
companies.
The case In question was one In
which the Home Telephone company
Of Joplin brought suit for $4,000
damages against the Sarcoxie Tele.
phone company, demanding also an
injunction restraining the Sarcoxie
company from furnishing physical
connection for long distance service to
the He'll company. During the con-
duct Of the case through the courts
the Home companies Of st. Joseph.
Kansas City and St.Louis assisted the
Joplin company In making Its fight,
while the Sarcoxie company was sup.
ported and aided by the Bell com.
pany. thereby demonst rating the uni.
versal interest In the matter at issue.
In 1905. the kinloch company Of st.
Louis, the Home company Of Kansas
City and the Home company Of ST.
Joseph entered into agreements with
each other and with other independ.
ent companies throughout the state
In which they agreed to furnish state.
wide competition In the long distance
phone business against the Bell lines.
These agreements were so drawn as
to keep the He'll company from put.
ting It's lines on the switchboards of
the independent companies or from
purchasing any Of these independent
companies or IN any other way seek.
Ing to disrupt the independent asso.
citation or ~ lie competition In time,
however. the He'll company succeeded
In getting connection with several Of
the independent, companies, thereby
interfering with the rights guaran.
teed to the independent companies
by the agreements into which they
had entered. II was because of this
that the sui, just decided by the su.
prcme court WAS brought.
The defending Sarcoxie company
sought to have the contracts bet wecn
the independent companies declared
invalid on the ground that they were
a combinat ion In restraint Of trade,
but the supreme court held that they
were calculated To increase, or further
saying:
These connect ions In the end fur
nished one continuous. competitive
line with that Of the He'll company
and this compel, ion might bc broken
down, u II shall he said that physical
connec, ion with the He'll company
mus, In matte by all companies hay
ing connection with the Kinloch sys-
tenn. The cont entio has never tsen
In this court and II is a matter Of Vi.
tai Importance. The Bell company Is
apparently seeking to reap where 1,
hath not sown, and this under the
suise Of the law"
The real effect Of this decision Is to
maintain long distance competition
between the towns and cities Of this
state, since the independent com.
panies will now be able to make their
service contracts and agreements up
on such a basis as will give them on.
rance to many towns which hitherto
had none but the Rell service.