The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-04-08
ANTITRUST Law EFFECTIVE.
SUPREME COURT REVIVES pow
ER OF COMMODITIES CLAUSE.
Justice White Shows Reason and
Right OF DivOrcing Railroad and
Mining Business.

Washington, April 3.-The com
modites clause" Of the Hepburn rate
law. interpreted two years ago by the
supreme court Of the United States
into what was commonly supposed to
be an impotent group Of words was
given new life today by that same tri-
bunal in a second Interpretation. SO
effective was the reconsideration Of
the subject that government officials
tonight predict that the evils sought
to be corrected by the legislation will
now be remedied and railroad busi-
ness henceforth divorced from coal
business.
The case arose In the United States
circuit court for the eastern distict
Of Pennsylvania and involved the
governments action against the So
called anthracite roads,"
The circuit court primarily held the
court Of the United States reversed
the lower court, but in remanding
the case, drew distinction between
ownership and transportation Of coal.
The government then sought to
amend its original petition against
the Lehigh Valley railroad to meet
the supreme courts views. This the
lower court refused to permit and dis
missed the suits against all the roads
Chief Justice White today announced
the unanimous decision Of the court
and took the position that the lower
court had erred in refusing to allow
the refusal as IAN absolute abuse Of
discretion"
He said, however, that the abuse
was obviously occasioned by a mis-
conception or the character Of the ac-
ton of this court and the scope Of
the mandate"
while that decision expressly
held" said the chief justice in refer
ring to the finding of the supreme
court two years ago, that stock
ownership by railroad company in
a bona fide corporation. irrespective
Of the extent Of such ownership did
not preclude a railroad company from
transporting the commodity manufac-
tured, mined, produced or owned by
such corporation, nothing in that con-
clusion forfeited the right of the gov
ernment to question the power Of the
railroad company to transport in in
terstate commerce commodity
manufactured, mined, owned or pro-
duced by corporation in which the
road holds stock and where the power
OF the railroad company as a stock
holder was used to obliterate all dis
tinctions between the two corpora
tions. That is TO say, where the power
was exerted in such manner as
to commingle the affairs of both AS
by necessary effect to make such az
fairs practically undistinguishable.
and therefore to cause both corpora
tions to be one for all purposes"
The decision was summed by the
chief justice In these words
1T must be held that while the
right of railroad company as a
stockholder to use it's stock owner
ship for the purpose Of bona fide
separate administration of the affairs
OF a corporation in which it was a
stock interest may not be denied, the
use of such stock ownership in sub
stance for the purpose Of DESTROYING
the entity Of producing corporation
and Of commingling it's affairs in ad-
ministraton with the affairs of the
railroad company so as to make the
two corporations virtually one, brings
the railroad company so voluntarily
acting as to such producing corpora
tions within the prohibition Of the
commodities clauses. In other words
that by operation and effect of the
commodities calusc, there is a duty
cast upon a roilroad company pur-
posing to carry in Interstate commerce
| a product of the producing corpora
ton in which it has a stock interest
not To abuse such power so as virtu-
ally to do by indircctiOn that which
the commodities clause prohibits 2
| duty which plainly would be violated
| by the unnecessary communicating Of
| the affairs Of the producing company
with its own So far as to cause then
| I" hc ON" and inScparablc."
''rhis decision rcopcus the funda,
mcut"l questions involved i'm the origi
| nal commodities clause" said Wad,