Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1911-05-26
STANDARD Oil HELD
TO Be ILLEGAL TRUST
Company Doomed by Decision
OF Supreme Court
corporation and Its Subsidiaries viii
Net Ee Excluded from Interstate
Commerce Pending Prepa-
rations for Dissolvinq.

The dissolution Of the Standard Oil
company is ordered by the supreme
court Of the United States. It's inter-
pretation of the Sherman antitrust
law, long awaited by an anxious busi-
J ness world, is also handed down in
connection with the decree.
TO accomplish this gigantic dissolu-
! ton the comt sets period of six
months. This is an extension of five
months over the time allotted in the
dissolution decree of the lower court
/ The decree Of T. g circuit court was
| modiled by the supreme court in only
ore other particular. The supreme
court orders that the Standard Oil
company and its subsidiaries shall not
he excluded from interstate commerce
pending the putting of its house in or
der
The decision may be summarized in
brief as follows:
l. The Standard Oil company is H.
legal in its organization, both as
combination in restraint of trade and
as monopoly, and its dissolution is
ordered.
z. Contracts, combinations, etc.,
which unreasonobly or unduly restrain
interstate trade and commerce, or
which are unreasonably restrictive of
competitive conditions, are illegal.
3. Contracts, combinations, ETC.,
which reasonably restrain interstate
trade and commerce do not come with
in the prohibition of law.
A. To determine whether a combina-
tion is guilty of violation of the anti
trust law, its intent to exclude others
frcm the same field of industry must
be established
5. Contracts, combinations, ETC., in
restraint of trade, with the one excep-
ton of advancing the development of
business power by unusual methods,
do not constitute violation of the an
thrust act.
6. In holding the Standard Oil com.
pany illegal the court does not assume
to condemn sweepingly similar COM
binations, but intends to pass upon
each case upon it's merits as presented.
The decision of the court fails to
point out any way in which the Stand
ard Oil company may dissolve and re-
organize.
eve construe the Decree" said the
court, mot as depriving the stock
holders or the corporations, after the
dissolution of this combination of the
power to make normal and lawful con-
tracts or agreements, but as restrain
ing them from, by any device what
ever creating directly or indirectly the
Illegal combination which the decree
dissolved"
The decision of the court in regard
to the general Interpretation of the
Sherman antitrust law was awaited
with greater anxiety by the business
world than the finding of fact in the
Standard Oil case. The court holds
that it is necessary to distinguish be-
tween Reasonable" and "Unreason-
able restraint of trade as covered by
the Sherman antitrust law.
The effect of the decision as viewed
by distinguished lawyers, is to insert
the word unreasonable" into the gen.
eral prohibition in the antitrust law
against combinations in restraint of
trade. The supreme court has thus
eliminated the uncertainty with which
all business combinations regarded
the Sherman antitrust law, and in the
future it will he up to the government
to draw the line between coed and bad
trusts. The antitrust law as construed
hy the court, does not apply to all
combinations, contracts or acts in re-
strain of trade, but only to those which
are shown to be unreasonable and in
| hich the intent to form an unlawful
conspiracy or monopoly can be proved
or inferred.
Tie decision and its effect was re-
garded in Washington as distinctly re-
assuring to business.
The decision Of the court was read
by Chief Justice Edward Douglas
White. 1t was unanimous, with the ex-
ception CT Associate Justice Harlan's
dissent Justice Harlan's words were
marked by biting sarcasm. He con-
tended that the court had not gone
far enough and he objected to the
words of the chief justice in constru-
ing the SCOPE and purpose of the anti
trust act. He declared that the court
had rendered an opinion that reversed
an unbroLen line of decisions for
fifteen years past. He criticised the
corporation lawyers wht, failing to
get an amendment to laws through
congress, came to the United States
courts for relief. He added with
manifest sarcasm that it was becom-
ing fashionable to amend the consti-
tuition and the federal statutes by
judicial constructions.
1t was the Interpretation of the
Sherman law so as to apply only to
unreasonable combinations to which
Associate Justice Harlan objected SO
vigorously
The opinion covered thirty pages Of
printed matter, but the chief justice in
delivering it followed his usual rule
and stated the courts conclusions
orally.
Twice in the course of his opinion
the chief Justice strongly limited that
if the Sherman law was not construed
in the light OF reason, but instead was
held to be literal prohibition against
all contracts and combination that hath
tendency to restrain trade, the
statute might fall under the objection
Of heine repusnant to the constitution