The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1911-05-17
STANDARD OIL
LOSES FIGHT
,urrene Court Decides That Ii Is
a Combination in Restraint
of Trade
GIVEN SIXTY DAYS IN
WHICH TO DISSOLVE
Decision Is Far-Reaching and Was
Unanimous in Main Points, JUS
tice Harlan Dissenting in One of
the Minor Ones

WASHINGTON. n. c, May ID
The Standard Oil company of New
Jersey and its nineteen subsidiary cor
poration were declared today by the
supreme court of the United states
to be conspiracy and com bination
in restraint of trade 1t was other
wise held to be monopolizing inter-
state commerce in violation of the
Sherman antitrust law. A dissolu-
ton Of the combination was ordered
take place within six months. Thus
ended the tremendous struggle on the
mart of the government to put down
bv authority of law, a combination
which it claimed was a menace to the
industrial and economic advancement
of the entire country.
At the same time the court inter-
preted the sherman antitrust law
so as to limit its application to acts
OF undue" restrainst of trade. 1t was
on this point that the only dlscord-
ant note was heard in the court. JUS
tce Harlan dissented, claiming that
cases already decided by the court
had determined-once for all that the
word undue" or unreasonable or
similar words were not in the statute
He declared that the reasoning or
the court in arriving at Its finding
was in effect, legislation which be-
lonsed in every instance to congress
and not to the courts.
Hope of the Business World
Ever since the decree in this case
in the lower court, the United states
circuit court for the eastern district
of Missouri was announced, the nope
has been expressed by the business
world" that the law would be mooltieo
so as not to interfere with what IL
DESIGNATED as honest business. TO-
night that section of the opinion call
ing for the use of the rule of result
in applying the law is regarded III
many quarters as answer to the
prayers Of the business world
Orinion of Chief Justice
The opinion of the court was an
nounced bv Chief Justice White. il
contained more than twenty thous-
ana words
Epoch Making Opinion
For nearly an hour the chief jus
icc discussed the case from the
,orch. going over most of the printed
,pinion. but not once referring to II
IN order to refresh his memory Be-
roro him sat an audience of the most
famous men in the country. Sena-
tn"s and representatives left their
chambers to listen to the epoch
making decision of the court. The
most eager to hear was Attorney
General Wickersham and Frank J..
Kellogg, special counsel for the gov
eminent, who had conducted the
great fight against Standard Oil.
BY far the greater portion of the
opinion Of the chief justice was de-
voted 10 the justification of the court
in requiring that the rule of result"
be applied to restraints of trade be-
fore they We're held to be violations
OF the sherman antitrust law. The
court found this justification in the
common law and in the general law
of the country at the time the Sher-
man antitrust law was passed. In
short. the court held that the techni-
cal words of the statute were to he
given tho meaning which those words
aad in the common law and in the
law of the country at the time of the
enactment This meaning of the
words, according TO the court, called
lor exercise of the result in determine
NE what restraints on trade were
prohibited.