Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1911-05-20
KNOCKOUT BLOW |
FOR OIL TRUST
Supreme Court Orders Standard
Company to Dissolve.
MODIFICATION IN DECREE
Six Months instead Of Thirty Days
Allowed For Breaking Up OF Comb.
nation Guilty Of Conspiracy and Mo-
nopoIy In Restraint Of Trade.

nopoly In Restraint Of Trade.
The Standard oil Company of New
Jersey mug; dissolve. This was the
decision of the supreme court of the
United States.
In a decision delivered by Chief
Justice White the government won It's
long and hard fought dissolution case
brought under the Sherman antitrust
law In that the Standard Oil company
was guilty OF conspiracy and monopoly
In restraint of trade. The decree Of
the lower court was affirmed, but was
modified in particulars, which Chief
Justice White said were very slight
indeed.
Associate Justice Harlan announced
dissenting opinion.
Chief Justice White began the de.
livery of the opinion, but before the
findings of the court were reached he
read great part OF $4,000 word re.
view OF the litigation and the evil
dence. This kept the crowd of emf.
nent lawyers and government officials
in the court room in suspense.
The decree of the lower court was
modified so that there need not be IAN
absolute cessation of interstate com.
merce in petroleum and Its products
by such vast agencies as are embraced
In the combination, result which
might arise from that portion OF the
decree which enjoined carrying on OF
interstate commerce not only by the
New Jersey corporation but by all OF
the subsidiary companies until the dis.
solution of the combination by the
transfer of the stocks in accordance
with the decree"
The court also extended the time
from one to six months in which the
dissolution must take place.
Probably the most important pro?o.
sition of law laid down in the opinion
was that the words in the statute
every restraint OF trade" are not to
he literally construed, but are to be
construed in the light of reason.
On this point the court held that
the position of the government that
the supreme court had decided that
any qualification of this phrase was
precluded by previous decisions of the
supreme court was erroneous.
OF the first two notifications the
language of the chief Justices con.
clusion was:
I'VE construe the sixth paragraph
of the decree not as depriving the
stockholders or corporation of the
tmht ~ lftsA bn luu nf hn
land, but as compelling obedience to
the law. AS therefore the sixth para,
graph as thus construed is not amen.
able to the criticisms suggested that
was obviously right.
I'VE think that in view of the mag.
nitude of the interests involved and
their complexity that the delay of
thirty days allowed for executing the
decree was too short. and should be
extended so as TO embrace period of
at least six months.
so also, in view of the possible
serious injury to result TO the public
from absolute cessation of interstate
commerce in petroleum and its pro-
ducts by such vast agencies as are
embraced in the combination, a re-
suit which might arise from that por-
ton of the decree which enjoined the
carrying on of interstate commerce
not only by the New Jersey corpora
ton. but all the subsidiary companies.
until dissolution of the combination by
the transfer of the stocks In accord
ance with the decree should not have
been awarded