The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1912-12-03
court DISSOLvfS
HARTMAN MERGER

Yesterday the United States Su-
preme Court handed down an opinion
dissolving the existing merger be-
tween the Union Pacific and South.
ern Pacific roads. The opinion was
read by Justice Day, as follows:
"This court reaches the decision
that the Union Pacific and Southern
Pacific systems, prior to the stock pur-
chase, were competitors, engaged in
interstate commerce, acting indepen-
IDENTIFY as to a large amount of such
carrying trade and that since the ac-
QUESTION of the stock in question the
dominating power of the Union Pa
cific has suppressed competition be-
tween the systems and has com
petition in restraint of interstate
commerce within the prohibitions of
the act
"In order to enforce the statute.
the court is obliged to forbid, in the
future, acts like those which are
found to have been done in violation
thereof and to enter a decree which
will effectually dissolve the combina-
tion found to exist in violation of the
statute.
"The decree should provide an in
junction against the right to vote
this stock while in the ownership or
control of the Union Pacific company
or any corporation owned by it, or
while held by any corporation or per-
son for the Union Pacific company.
and forbid any transfer or disposition
thereof in such wise as to continue its
control, and should provide an injunc-
tion against the payment of dividends
upon such stocks while thus held. ex-
cept to receiver to be appointed by
the court which shall collect and hold
such dividends undisposed of by the
decree of the court.
" AS the court below dismissed the
governments bill, it was necessary
to consider the disposition of the
shares of stock acquired by the Union
Pacific company, which acquisition, we
hold, constituted an unlawful combi-
nation in violation of the antitrust
act. To effeetually conclude the ope-
rating force of the combination, such
disposition should be made subject to
the approval and decree of the court
and any plan for disposition of this
stock must be such as to effectually
dissolve the unlawful combination
thus created. The court shall pro-
ceed, upon the presentation of any
plan, to hear the government and de-
PENDANTS and may bring in additional
parties whose presence may be neces-
sary to a final division of the stock in
conformity to the views herein ex-
pressed.
May Control Line to Coast.
:" AS to the suggestion made at the
oral argument by the attorney general
to the nature of the degree, that
one must be entered which while de-
stroying the unlawful combination, in
sofar as the Union Pacific secured
control of the competing line of road
extending from New Orleans and Gal
weston to San Francisco and Portland,
would permit the Union Pacific to re-
tain the Central Pacific from Ogden to
San Francisco and thereby to control
that line to the coast, thus effecting
such continuity of the Union Pacific
and Central Pacific from the Missouri
river to San Francisco as was contem-
plated by the acts of congress under
which they We're constructed, it
should be said that nothing herein
shall be considered as preventing the
government or other party in inter
est, if so desiring, from presenting to
the court plan for accomplishing this
result or preventing the court from
adopting and giving effect to any such
plan so presented.
"Any plan or plans shall be pre-
sented to the court within three
months from the receipt of the man
date of the court failing which, or
upon the rejection by the court of
plans submitted within such time, the
court shall proceed by reeeivership
sale, if necessary, to dispose of such
stock in such wise as to dissolve such
unlawful combination.
"The government has appealed
from the decree, which is general
one, dismissing the bill So far as
concerns the attepmt to acquire the
Northern Pacific stock and the stock
of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
Railway company, afterwards aban-
doned, and certain interest in the
San Pedro, OILS Angeles and Salt Lake
Railroad company and other features
of the case dealt with and disposed of
by the decree and opinion of the court
below, it is sufficient, without going
into these matters in detail, to say we
find no reason to disturb the action Of
the court below, but for the reasons
stated, the decree shall be reversed
and one entered in conformity to the
views herein expressed, so far as con
Germs the acquisition of the Southern
Pacific stocks
The court instructed the circuit
court to retain its jurisdiction to see
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