The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1911-12-08


message. which was read in both houses
of congress Tuesday, deals exclusively
with the antitrust statute. The message
In part Is as follows
To the Senate and House OF Represent
stives This message is the first OF sew
eral which | shall send TO congress during
the interval between the opening OF It's
regular session and its adjournment for
the Christmas holidays. The amount OF
Information 10 be communicated as 70
the operations OF the government. the
number OF important subjects calling for
comment by the executive. and the trans
mission 10 congress OF exhaustive re-
ports by special commissions, make IL I'M
possible TO include in one message or
reasonable length a discussion OF the top
les that ought 10 be brought TO the at
tention OF the national legislature At Its
frst regular session.
The Antitrust law-The Supreme
Court Decisions.
In May last the Supreme court handed
down decisions in the suits In equity
brought by the United States TO enjoin
the further maintenance OF the Standard
Oil trust and OF the American Tobacco
trust, and 10 secure their dissolution. The
decisions are epoch making and serve 70
advise the business world authoritatively
OF the scope and operation OF the anti
trust law OF 1890 The decisions do not
depart In any substantial way from the
previous decisions OF the court In constru-
Ing and applying this important statute.
but they clarity those important decisions
by further defining the already admitted
exceptions 10 the literal construction OF
the act BY the DEGREES, they furnish
useful precedent as 70 the proper method
OF dealing with the capital and property
OF illegal trusts. These decisions sug-
gest the need and wisdom OF additional
or supplemental legislation to make IL
easier for the entire business community
to square with the rule OF action and
legality thus finally established and TO
preserve the benefit freedom and spur
OF reasonable competition without loss or
real efficiency or progress.
No Change In the Rule Of Decision
Merely in Form of Expression.
The statute I'm its first section declares
TO be Illegal "every contract combination
In the form OF trust or otherwise, or con-
spracy in restraint OF trade or COM
merce among the several states or with
foreign nations" and I'm the second, de-
clares guilty OF a misdemeanor every per-
son who shall monopolize or attempt TO
monopoliZe or combine or conspire with
any other person to monopoliZe any part
OF the trade or commerce OF the several
states or with foreign nations"
In two early cases where the statute
was invoked to enjon "A transportation
agreement between interstate railroad
companies. n was held that II was no de-
fense TO show that the agreement as 10
rates complained Of was reasonal at com
mon law, because II was said that the
statute was directed against ell con-
tracts and combinations in restraint or
trade whether reasonal at common law
or not 1t was plain from the record,
however. that the contracts complained
OF in those cases would not have been
deemed reasonable at common law.
1t has been said that the court by In
Producing into the construction OF the
statute common law distinctions, has
smasCulated II. This is obviously untrue.
BY its Judgment every contract and COM
binaton In restraint OF interstate trade
made with the purpose, or necessary ef-
feet Of controlling prices by sitting com
petition. or OF establishing in whole or In
part a monopoly OF such trade. is con-
deuned bv the statute. The most eX-
tremo critics cannot instance case that
ought 10 be condemned under the statute
which Is not brought within It's terms as
thus construed.
The suggestion is also rA7de that the Su-
preme court by its decisions In the last
two cases has committed 10 the court the
underlined and unlimited discretion 20 de-
termine whether "A case or restraint OF
trade Is within the terms OF the statute.
This IS wholly untrue. reasonable re-
straint OF trade at common law is well
understood and is clearly defined. II does
not rest IN the discretion OF the court II
must be limited 10 accomplish the purpose
OF q lawful main contract 20 which, In
order that Il shall be enforceable at all.
st must be incidental II II exceeds the
needs OF that contract II Is void.
The Remedy in Equity by Dissolution.
In the Standard oil case the Supreme
and circuit courts found the combination
20 be a monopoly Of the interstate busi-
ness of refining. Transporting. and mar
keting petroleum and its products, effect
ed and maintained through thirty-seven
different corporations. the stock of which
was held by a New Jersey company. II
in effect commanded the dissolution or
this combpation. directed the transfer
and pro-rata distribution bv the New Jer-
sey company OF the stock held by q In
the thirty-seven corporations 10 and
among its stockholders. and the corpora
tions and individual defendants were en-
Joined from conspiring or combining 20
restore such monopoly. and all agree
rnents between the subsidiary corporations
tending 20 produce or bring about further
violations of the act We're enjoined.
In the Tobacco case. the court found
that the individual defendants. twenty
nine I'm number. had been engaged IN
successful effort 20 acquire complete do
ruinion over the manufacture. sale. and
distribution of tobacco In this country
and abroad. and that this had been done
by con- binatons made with purpose
and effect 20 stihe competition. control
prices and establish a monopoly. not
only IN the manufacture OF tobacco. but
also of tin-fon and licorice. used In It's
manufacture and of its products of cl-
Cars. cigarettes and snuffs. The tobacco
suif presenteud a far more complicated
and difficult case than the Standard Oil
suit for decree which would ehectuate
the will of the court and end the viola
ton Of the statute There was here no
single holding company az In the case
OF The STANDARD OF trust. The main COM
panv was the American Tobacco com
pauy n Manufacture. selling and hold
inr company The plan adopted 10 de-
strov the combination and restore compe-
tition involved the redivislon ~ the capt
fal and plants ~ the whole trust between
some - the companies constituting the
trust and new companies organized for
the purposes % The decree and made par
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