The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-12-02
RAILWAY TRUST
NEEDS |: | BUSTING.
Supreme Court Holds That Hartman
Railroad and Shipping Monopoly
10 IN illegal
Combine.
UNANIMOUS OPINION
Merger Of the Southern Pacific, In
ion Pacific and Salt Lake Road
is Ordered Die
solved.

UNITED Press Leased Wire Service.l
WASHINGTON Dec. 2.-Declaring
illegal the Hartman railroad and
shipping monopoly, the supreme
court today sustained the govern
ment's trust busting" suit by order
ing dissolved the merger OF the
Southern Pacific, Union Pacific and
salt Lake. railroads.
Wizard Harriman's monument Of
railroad and Pacific coast shipping
combines was held to be gross vio-
lation Of the Sherman antitrust law.
The highest court emphatically re-
fused to invoke its "rule OF reason"
laid down in the Standard Oil and
tobacco trust cases, to approve the
railroad combine. The merger was
declared "unreasonably" in restraint
/ of trade.
Ownership by the Hartman rail
trust" of As percent Of all Southern
Pacific stock is declared illegal and
roundly disapproved by the court.
The interest of the Hartman COM
pany in the Atchison, Topeka and
! Santa Re and salt Lake" railroads
was held not illegal.
The decision was unanimous, JUS
4 tice vandeventer taking no part
The court directed the circuit court
4 OF Utah, to take charge OF the disso-
4 luton Of interests Of the Southern
I. Pacific stock held BY the Union Paci-
f1c.
4 Presentation OF the plans to the
supreme court of the United States
within three months is ordered.
Justice Day read the opinion. 1t
said in part:
"This court reaches the conclusion
/, that the Union Pacific and Southern
4 Pacific systems-prior to the stock
purchase were competitors engaged
. in interstate commerce, acting inde
pendently as to a large amount OF
carrying trade, and that since the ac-
), QUESTION of the stock in question, the
dominating power of the Union Paci
fic has suppressed competition be
, tween the systems and has effected a
combination in restraint of the inter
: tions Of the act.
sIn order to enforce the statute the
!, court is required to forbid the doing
4 in the future of acts like those which
!. are found to have been done in viola
tion thereof and to enter decree
which will effectually dissolve the
combination found to exist in viola
, tion of the statute.
aThe decree should provide an in
.. . junction against the right to vote thii
stock, while in the ownership or con
!, troll of the Union Pacific or any cor
poration owned by it, or while hell
by any corporation or person for tn,
Union Pacific and forbid any transfe
OF disposition thereof in such wise a
to continue its control, and shoult
provide an injunction against the pay
! ment of dividends upon such stocl
: while thus held, except to receive
to be appointed by the court VIII
shall collect and hold such dividend
:. until disposed of by the decree of TIL
: court
: "As the court below dismissed til
: governments bill, 1T was unnecessar
there to consider the disposition Q
: the shares Of stock acquired by th
Union Pacific company, which acquis
ton we hold, constituted an unlaw
full combination in violation of tn
! antitrust act. In order to effectuall
conclude the operating force of tn
:. combination such disposition shoul
= be made subject to the approval an
: decree of the court, and any plan fo
the disposition of this stock must b
: such as to effectually dissolve the III
. lawful combination thus created.
- "As to the suggestion made at tn
!. oral argument by the attorney gene
II al, in response to a query from til
. court as to the nature Of the deere
e that one might be entered whic]
-e while destroying the unlawful comb
If nation insofar as the Union Pacif
" secured control Of the competing lir
IS of road extending from New Orlear
lie and Galveston to San Francisco ar
le Portland, would permit the Unic
Pacific to retain the Central Pacif
10 connection from Ogden to San Fra
o. cisco and thereby to control that liz
IN to the coast, .hus effecting such
IS, continuity of the Union Pacific ar
,g