The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1912-12-19
CONSPIRACY
CASE LOST BY I. S.
Supreme Court Finds Contracts
With Railroads Illegal hut
Failssto Sustain Charges.

washington, Dec. l7s-The govern
ments has lost its fight before the
supreme u OF the United states
to have iii anthracite coal carrying
railroads and their affiIiated coal com
panies declared TO be In a general com-
bination in violation 81 the anttstrust
law. ss8
It won a victory in getting the court
to strike down the 65 percent@con-
lfracts whereby the archaeological COM
panIesv buy the output of 'independ-
emit mines. Justice Lnrton In
nouncing the opinion said these con-
tracts were plainly in violation OF the
law.
The court also held the railroads had
violated the law BY attempting to
shut out ofthe anthracite region q
competitive road through their control
of the Temple Iron company.
Mirror Ones Go NFrse.
AS to minor combinations OF rail-.
roads n coal companies. charged to
be violating the law. the scour dis
missed the action, without prejudice to
future suits. because 1t held 1t not fair
to require those groups to make q de-
tense II. an action primarily against
L - SAAS 80 SSsAA IA I'LL 8HHETBe&@sHH fEG-5
Justices Day, Hughes and Pitney
took no part in the decision. There
We're no dissenting opinions.
In an opinion by Assoc
ciated Justice Lurton, the court holds
First-That the general combination
alleged by the government to exist be-
tween the defendant roads for al
p~ortionnent for total tonnage to the
seaboard. by an agreement in the ma,
ture OF a pooling arrangement has not.
been established n therefore the re-
lief sought by the government upon as
sumption OF such combination is de-.
MED.
Stifed Competition.
"Second-The court finds. however.
that the principal defendants did COM,
bine. for the purpose of shutting out
from the anthracite coal field a pro-
jeeted i~ndependent line of railroad, the
New YORK, Wyoming & Western rail-
road, and to accomplish that purpose
it is found that the stock of the Tenn
pie Iron company n OF the Simpson
& Watkins collieries was acquired for
the purpose of n with the intent,
not of normally and lawfully develop
ing trade. but of restraining Interstate
and competition in trans,
portation which would have presum-
ton and operation OF the proposed
competing line OF railroad between the
mines n tidewater.
"Third-The court holds that certain,
tcohtIacts Hlaue Win cover
ing between 20 and 25 per cent OF the
total annual supply of the coal known
as the 90 per cent contracts, by which
such Independent producers bound
themselves to deliver tile output OF
their mines or any other mine which
they might acquire, to the railroad
companies for 65 per vent Of the ay-
erage market prices at tidewater, were
also void because in violation of the
antitrust act as abnormal and Illegal.
restraints upon interstate commerce.
In Other Words Reasonable
"Fourth-The court reiterates the de-
claration in the Standard OF case that
an act of congress does not forbid or
restrain the power to make normal and
usual contracts to further trade nv re-
sorting to all normal methods, whether
by agreement or otherwise, to accom-
plish such purposes"
Nevertheless it holds that the acts
which 1T finds in this case to be Illegal.
the Temple Iron and 65 per cent con-
tracts We're not within such class, but
on the contrary were abnormal in their
character and directly tended to, and
We're intended to illegally restrain trade
within the statute as illustrated by the
rulings in st. Louis termina and Swift
& Co., VS.. the United States.
Text of Charges.
The government suit charged that
the principal anthracite coal carrying
railroads and their affiliated coal COM
panies had entered into "a general COM
bination to end competition in the
transportation and sale of anthracite.
Several groups of the defendants were
further charged with smaller combina-
tions for the same purpose.
The ~so-cailed 65 per cent contracts
We're agreements whereby the railroad
coal companies We're to buy the output
of independent operators at 65 per cent
of the price of the coal at Underwater.
/ II, annNItnptpu fha Hnrtnior r.. T,,e<son
Lurton said that these contracts were
in restraint of trade and Illegal no mat
ter what the intention with which they
We're framed.
to the legality of the minor combina-
tons charged. but dismissed the
charges as to them because the gov
eminent had no right to make the
smaller groups, within the alleged gen.
eral combination, defend their action
in a suit which charged first of all, a
general combination.
STOCKS TAKE JUMP
FOLLOWING DECISION
New York. Dec. Humping a whole
point between sales or excited bidding,
Reading quotations on the stock ex-
change touched 164B soon after the
first receipt of news from Washington
of the supreme court decision in the
i,ard coal cases. The stock had been
weak IN the morning, declining 3 points
to 1891. Its ecovery of 61a points
from the low record of the morning
was almost instantaneous and the ad-
vance pulled up the remainder of the
list. largely wiping out the early de-
clines.
Much Of the selling in the early trad
ing was attributed to out of town
points. Boston and the middle west
were especially prominent in the move
ment.
AS WickERSHAM VIEWS IT..
Washington, Dec. 1T.-Attorney Gen.
eral Wickersham declared that the an
nullnlent of the 65 per cent contracts