Daily Kennebec journal., 1911-01-02
PROSECUTIONS
To Dissolve Standard Oil
and American Tobacco
win Be Taken Up al Once in
the Supreme Court.
The Government Officials Mean to
Push Actions TO q Finish.

dSnliiStOH. Jan. l.--IIOStCutloiS w
the government. designed to accom-
pish the dissolution of standard Or
and Of the American Tobacco organi-
zations emboGyng the greatest anti
trust" fight of the generation. Will be
taken up for the second time by the
Supreme Court of the United States at
the beginning Of it's work for the New
Year Continuing its consideration of
affairs of government. the court will
immediately afterwards give its attcn-
ton to the constitutionality of the corr
poratian tax provision Of the Payne
Aldrieh tariff act.
All three cases attracted worldwide
attention when first presented to the
court about Year ago. With the OBJ
jeCt OF procuring consideration by a,
full bench, they were set for re-arSu-
mcnt on January 3. Intervening cases
will cause a delay until probably Janu-
lary ), when it is believed the argu-
mentS in the Tobacco case will begin.
The Standard Oil and the corporation
tax arguments will follow. About
three days will be required for each.
The Standard oil and the Tobacco
cases put the sherman antitrust law
/! it has been subjected during the
twenty years of its existence. The
corporation tax cases place on trial
the power of the federal government
over corporations. The contention
has been made that II the Standard
Oil and the Tobacco organizations are
dissolved the government will be
forced to license corporations in order
to allow legitimate business to be car
ried on. The corporation tax decision
may define the power OF the federal
government over corporations so as to
guide this proposed subsequent legis-
|lation. incidentally. about s25,000.000
annually in taxes depend upon the de-
cision.
Although the Tobacco case is to be
argued first. the Standard Oil suit has
attracted more attention. Attorney
General Wickersham has referred to
the Standard OH case as probably the
most important tina ever came before
tn ecourt.
The Standard oil suit was instituted
in 1906 in the Circuit Court OF the
United States for the Eastern Division
OF the Eastern Judicial District OF
Missouri. The federal goyerntr1ent
was the complaining party. H claimed
that the Standard Oil Companysof New
jersey. as Il holding companyx-ts -tse
qauired since 1899 and held sby nireet
stock ownership, o. compafiiess Ttese
90, it was alleged. owned the f4ock ef
A. other companies, making ass3Qtal OF
Ia companies. The gov*rnment
asked that this organization be dis
solved under the Sherman anti.trust
law.
A year was taken by the four judges
in the circuit court to pass ON the CO Sc.
PE unanimous agreement, decree was
entered by the court dissolving the or
ganization. both because il was in
restraint OF Interstate commerce and
because it was attempting to monop-
Ulizr." Fefore the decree became ef-
fective an appeal carried the case to
the supreme court.
TIL" Tobacco ease was instituted in.
500 in the Circuit Court OF the United
States for the Southern District OF
New York The government here, too,
was tine complaining party. Allies in
various branches oil the tobacco busi-
ness. with combined assets uf more
than $ioo.o00, 900. constituted the or
ganlZation which the government
sought to have the court dissolve.
The four judges zach rendered sep
aratc opinions III the Tobacco case.
but three ut them united in decree.
holding many of the corporations had
entered into "a combination lin re-
straint Of trade" in violation of the
first section OF the Sherman antitrust
81 ,ln =
tiuu Of this combination. other cor
porations including the United Cigar
Stores Company. the Imperial To-
b&cco Company and the British Ameri-
can Tobacco Company, were found not
to be in the combination. None We're
held to be "monopolizins' in violation
OF the second section of the Sherman
ANTITRUST law.
The APPLICATION of the Sherman anti
trust law to these two organizations.
involves not only an investigation into
the facts, but includes an intcrpreta-
ton of the law itself. Th" principal
uncertainties in regard to the law clus-
ter around three words in the statute.
These words form the basis OF three
questions. What is commerce What
is restraint" of trade or commerce"
and What is it to "monopoliZe
Around What is commerce - the
principal fight in the Tobacco case
probably is to be found. The COM
merce which the government claims is
being restrained and monopolized is
not commerce.. according to the To-
bacco attorneys. 1t is nothing more
than the manufacture of an article
which later enters into commerce. The
bulwark behind which the Tobacco or
sanization making its fight along this
line is the famous knight decision.
made even more famous BY the refer
ence to it by former President Roose-
Welt last fall in criticising the decisions
of the Supreme Court. In that case
the court declined to suppress an al
legged monopoly in manufacture of
sugar. on the ground that it had au-
thority to proceed only by way of pre-
venting monopolies in commerce. The
tobacco corporations claim that they
are concerned only incidentally in
commerce.
Again the dispute as to what is in
cluded in the word Commerce." as re-
ferred To in the Sherman antitrust
law. arises in connection with the
character of a holding comnanv Rot1,