The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1911-12-06

Of the statute This IL wholly untrue.
A reasonable restraint Of trade at com
mon law In we'll understood and is
clearly defined. It does not rest In the
discretion Of the court. 1t must be
limited to accomplish the purpose of a
lawful main Contract to which in order
that II shall be enforceable at all 1t
must be incidental. II it exceed the
needs Of that contract it is void.
The test of reasonableness was never
applied by the court at comman law
to contacts or combinations or con-
spiracies In restraint of trade whose
purpose was or whose necessary effect
would be to stifle competition. to con
troll prices or establish monopolies.
The courts assumed power to
say that such contracts or combina-
tons or conspiracies might be lawful
If the parties to them were only mod
crate in the use Of the power thus Sc
cured and did not exact from the pub
lie too great and exorbitant prices. 1t
is true that many theorists and others
engaged in business violating the stat
ute have hoped that some such line
could be drawn by courts, but no court
Of authority has ever attempted it
Certainly there Is nothing in the deci-
sions Of the latest two cases from
which such a dangerous theory of ju-
dicial discretion in enforcing this stat
ute can derive the slightest sanction.
Force and Effectiveness Of Statute q
Matter Of Growth.
We have been twenty-one years max
ing this statute effective for the pur-
poses for which it was enacted. The
knight case was discouraging and
seemed to remit to the states the whole
available power to attack and suppress
the evils of the trusts. Slowly, howev-
er, the error Of t,lat Judgment was cor
rected, and onl, in ih~ ,ast three or
four years has the heavy hand Of the
law been laid upon the great Illegal
combinations that have exercised such
an absolute dominion over many Of our
industries. Criminal prosecutions have
been brought. and a number are pend
ing. but juries have felt averse to on
victing for jail sentences and judges
have been most reluctant to impose
such sentences on men of respectable
standing in society whose ofense has
been regarded as merely statutory.
Still. as the offense becomes better un-
derstood and the committing of it par
takes more Of studied and deliberate
defiance of the law we can be conf
dent that juries will convict tndividu-
al, and that Jail sentences will be i'm
posed.
The Remedy In Equity by Dissolution.
In the Standard Oil case the supreme
and circuit courts found the combina-
ton to be a monopoly Of the interstate
business of refining. transporting and
marketing petroleum and It's products
effected and maintained through thir'
ty-seven different corporations. the
stock Of which was held by a New Jer
sey company. 1t in effect commanded
the dissolution of this combination, di
rected the transfer and pro rats distri
button by the New Jersey company o
the stock held by it In the thirty-sevei
corporations to and among its stock
holders. and the corporations and indi
yidual defendants were enjoined from
%conspiring or combining to restor'
such monopoly. and all agreements be
tween the subsidiary corporations tend
ing to produce or bring about furthe
violations Of the act were enjoined.
In the tobacco case the court fount
that the individual defendants. TWEEN
ty-nine IN number, had been engaged
in a successful effort to acquire com
plete dominion over the manufacture
sale and distribution of tobacco In thi
country and abroad and that this ha'
been done by combinations made wit
a purpose and effect to stitle compett
ton. control prices and establish
monopoly, not only in the manufactur
of tobacco, but also Of tin foil and liz
orice used in its manufacture and c
its products Of cigars. cigarettes an
snuffs. The tobacco suit presented
far more complicated and difficult cas-
than the Standard Oil suit for u deere
which would effectuate the will OF tn
court and end the violation of the sta
ute. There was here no single hol'
ing company. as in the case of tt
Standard Oil trust. The main compan
was the American Tobacco compan,
a manufacturing. selling and holdir
company. The plan adopted to d
stroy the combination and restore col
petition involved the redivision of tt
capital and plants Of the whole tru
between some of the companies co
shutting the trust and new compani
organized for the purposes OF The d
cree and made parties to it and nu1
bering, new and old. fourteen.
Situation After Readjustment.
The American Tobacco compa'
(old), readjusted capital $92,O0O.W
the Liggett & Meyers Tobacco compa
new. capital $67. 00o. 200; the P. Lol
lard company new, capital $4,000