The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1911-05-31
CABINET MEMBER QUOTES CASE
WHEREIN JUSTICE APPLIED
"RULE OF REASON
TRINITY CHURCH MATTER
Statement Is Made That Supreme
Court Had Heretofore Applied
Liberal Construction to All Laws.
as to Follow Them Literally Would
Result in Ridiculous Situations.

! Washington May 30.--That the gov
ernment means to formulate the anti
trust policies in accord with the rule
of reason" rs laid down by the su-
! preme court in the standard OH and
/ Tobacco trust decisions, notwithstand-
| ing the vigorous dissents of Associate
Justice Harlan and the many bills in
! troduced in the senate t, amend the
sherman antitrust law, was made
evident today.
Administration officials, after a
| days consideration and study OF the
tobacco decision ana thorough com
parison with the Standard oil deci.
sion, were agreed that the rule of
reason" is no new feature of the su-
premc courts Interpretation of law.
and one member of the cabinet, whose
views have always been regarded as
reflectng those of the administration.
made comprehensive statement To
that effect.
The statement was attributed TO
AN official close to the admnistra-
ton 1t follows In part:
The Statement.
Justice Harlan, In his dissenting
opinion in the tobacco case. objects
vigorously to the application I'm the
construction of the act of congress of
the rule of reason to which attention
was called by the chief Justice IN his
opinion In the Standard oil ease and
again in the tobacco case. Justice
Harlan says to insert by construction
the word unreasonable or undue i'm
the sherman act is judicial legislation.
Congress- he says. has. In lam
guage so clear and simple that there
~ no room whatever for construction.
sishlfied Its purpose to forbid every
restraint Of trade In whatever form
10 Whatever extent whereas the court
under the chief Justices opinion
inserts In the law words which make
congress say that 1t means only to
prihibit undue restraint OF trade,
This he objects to as amounting to
u reading into the act by judicial lecis-
lation Of an exception not placed there
by the law making branch of the
government and this. he contends. the
court cannot and ought not To do
But Justice Harlan has not alwaysl
regarded the judicial function as ex-
ciudlhS the right To interpret statutes
IN the light of reason and to release
" literal application to the words of
the act where that would involve n
manifest wrong. In the case Of the
church of the Holy Trinity against
lhe United States, the court had I'M
der consideration the act of congress
known as the alien immigration net
passed February 20, 1855
An Instance.
THE Church of the Holy Trinity.
In New York, had made n contract
with Rev. H. Walpole Warren, an
alien residing in England. to remove
to New York and enter into It's service
as It's rector and pastor for Il oom-
pensation to he paid to him: and be-
cause OF that contract, an action was
brought against the church by the
United States to recover the penalty
prescribed for violation of this act.
justice Brewer wrote the opinion of
the court, I'm which all the other
Justices, including Justice Harlan.
concurred. He promised by conced-
ing that the act Of the corporation
rs within the letter of this section.
for the relation of rector to his church
Is one of service and implies labor on
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