The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1911-05-25
FOUGHT HARD TO
DOWN THE TRUST

WASHINGTON. u. g, May IL
president TaftS message to Congress
! ABOUT a year ago was freely quoted
about the Capitol yesterday, and the
/ seeming similarity of his views as to
the scope Of the antitrust law TO the
view expressed 10y Associate Justice
| Harlan in his dissenting opinion of
Monday attracted renewed attention
10 Justice Harlan's position. as out
llned in his statement to the court
Justice Harlan held that his broth
er Judges had no right to usurp the
junction Of the legislative branch OF
the Government by writing into the
statute differentiation between "rea-
Sonable and unreasonable" He de-
CARED that Congress had resisted all
appeals 10 SO amend the act. and that
there was every reason TO believe that
Such an amendment never could be
put through the legislative branch.
Cnder these circumstances, and in
their extremity, great aggregations of
wealth applied to the court in an ef-
Tort 10 have ii construe the law in q
way that would be fiat reversal OF
what it had held on two previous oc-
casions.
Justice Harlan declined To he
party TO such a reversal, and hence
ms dissenting opinion. He denounced
as the most alarming tendency of
the day the tendency to judicial leg
iSlauon. Men Of power. ne said. al
ways were trying to get the courts to
DO what Congress would not.
President Tart, in his special mes
sage TO Congress Of January !, 1910.
urging Federal incorporation act
declared that TO put the word 'rea-
Sonable' into the antitrust statute
and thus leave il for the courts to
say what was reasonable restraint
81 trade, would be put into the hands
or the courts "a power impossible
10 exercise on any consistent principle
which would insure the uniformity of
DECISION essential to good Judgment"
1t is 10 throw upon the courts" he
added, IA burden that they have no
presidents 10 enable them to carry.
ana 10 give them power approach
ing the arbitrary, the abuse of which
might involve our judicial system in
disa ster."
As to the doctrine Of good trusts"
ana bad trusts" which the majority
opinion OF the court, as expressed by
Chlef Justice White, seems TO have
lald down, President Taft, in his mes
sage written more than a year ago.
said:
The public, and especially the bus
mess public, ought to rid themselves
OF the idea that such distinction is
practicable or can be introduced into
the statute. Certainly under the pres
exists"
Relying upon the former opinions
of the Supreme Court in the so-caned
trans Missouri and joint traffic cases
the President said:
The Supreme Court in several of
Its decisions has declined to read into
the statute the word unreasonable
before restraint of trade on the
ground that the statute applies to an
restraints and does not intend to leave
TO the court the discretion to deter
mine what is a reasonable restraint
of trade"
me apparent reversal in the Stand |
ard Oil case of the courts decisions
on THESE former occasions forms the |
basis of much of the discussion in |
dulged in. Although the Presidents |
ideas as to the rule Of reason" seem |
to be divergent from those of the ma |
Jority opinion, and to coincide more |
closely with the dissenting views of |
Jusuce Harlan, Mr.. Taft was quoted |
by callers yesterday as saying:
Il defer to the decision of the Su-
preme Court; am willing to take my |
law from it,"