The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-12-07
If t,e statute This IS wholly untru.

tlOn law IL wei! AZ iPFS. Bat dliu II
clearly defined. II d,p~ no: rest in tie
discretion Of thu court IL Aiiist be
limited to accomplish TIE p,!l'. 'o>p OF Il
lawful main contract ~ hit;h in order
that it shall he enforceable III all il
must be incidental LIZ it exceed the
needs of that contract il L. VOID
The test of re;:Snua bienp>S WAS nave-
applied by the court az cnuman l;.W
to contracts ar considerations or con
spiracie.s 10 restraint Ut trade whDSe
purpose was or whn>.. mex pSsS,ry .Afl 81,
would be- tn >titia competition. to ION
troll prices ar eSt:ili.iSi Ipuuo;n,!.s,S
The courts never aSsti;ited power to
say that Snch contracts or ronlhi:ia-
lions or cOnSpiricieS might he ,awfu
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 ana others
engaged in business violating the stat
ute have hoped that some such line
could be dra wn by courts. but no court
of authority has ever attempted it
Certainly there Is nothing in the decl-
sions of the latest two cases from
which such n dangerous theory OF jul
diciaI discretion in enforcing this stat
ute can derive the slightest sanction.
Force and Effectiveness Of Statute a
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 that judgment was cor
rected. and only in the last 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 on!
industries Criminal prosecutions have
been brought. and a number are pend
ing. but jurieS have felt averSe to con
victing for Jail sentences and Judges
have been most reluctant to impose
standing in society whose offense has
been regardeds as merely statutory
Still. as the offense becomes better un
derstood and the committing OF ii pa"
takes more Of studied and deliberate
defiance of the law we can be conn
dent that juries will convict individu
ais and that Jail sentences will be i'm
posed
The Remedy In Equity by Dissolution
In the Standard OH case the supreme
and circuit courts found the comblna
ton to be a monopoly of the interstate
business of refining. transporting ant
marketing petroleum and its products
effected and maintained through thlr
ty-Seven different corporations. tn.
stock of which was held by New Jer
sew company. 1t in effect commando
the dissolution of this combination. di
rected the transfer and pro rata diStri
button by the New Jersey company OF
the sock held by it in the thirty
cerporations to and among its stock
holders. and the corporations and lndl
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 fOunC
that the individual defendants. TWEEN
ty-nine in number. had been engaged
in successful effort to acquire com
plete dominion over the manufacture
sale and distribution OF tobacco in TIL:
country and abroad and that this haC
been done by combinations made will
ton. control prices and establish
monopoly. not only in the manufacture
of tobacco. but also of tin foil and lie
orice used in its manufacture and OF
its products of cigars. cigarettes anC
snuffs. The tobacco suit presented 8
far more complicated and difficult case
than the Standard Oil suit for decree
which would effectuate the will of the
court and end the violation of the stat
ute There was here no single hold
eiit NoSC W 'hs
Standard Oil trust. The main company
was the American Tobacco company
a manufacturing. selling and holding
company. The plan adopted 10 de
stroy the combination and restore com
petition involved the redivision of the
capital and plants of the whole trust
between some of the companies con
shutting the trust and new cOmpanie.
organized for the purposes of the de
cree and made parties to it and mum
bering. new and Old fourteen.
Situation After Readjustment.
| The American Tobacco company
(old). readjusted capital 100000
the Liggett & Meyers Tobacco company
new. capital S67 100000: the P. Loril
lard company new. capital $4,000.
900. and the r. J. Reynolds Tobacco
company (old,. capital $1.525.0OO. are
chiefly engaged in the manufacture
and sale of chewing and smoking TO
bacco and cigars. The former one til
foil company is divided into two. ont
of SS25 900 capital and the other Of
100000 The one snuff company i
divided into three companies. one witt
a capital of S15.OoO.oo0. another with ;
capital of $S.OO00GO and Il third will
capital of SS.000.G00 The licorict