Norwich bulletin., 1912-12-03
Court Declares
 Merger Illegal
UNION PACIFIC VIOLATED ANTI.
 TRUST LAW,
SAYS SUPREME COURT
Circuit Court of Utah District to Su-
 pervse Separation of Two Systems InvoIved-Court Opinion Unanimous.

Washington, Dec. 2.-The great Hartman merger created when the Union Pacific Railroad company bought 46 per cent. of the stock of the Southern Pacific Railway system was split asunder today by the supreme court of the United States as a viola tion of the Sherman antitrust law. Theu,swfth the end of the merger be- fore it, the court sent forth it's DOT tentous declaration that while the law may not be able to enforce com petition, it can reach combinations l which render competition impractical | ble.''
 Unanimous Opinion of Court. Justice Day announced the unani- | nous opinion of the court. Justice | Van Devanter took no part in the | consideration of the case today, but his principal finding when he was a l judge of the Utah circuit court, to the effect that the two roads were not | competitors and therefore no violation of the law had resulted from the pur- l chase was reversed and annulled. In stead of following the reasoning of | Justice Van Devanter and Judges | Sanborn and Adams, the court in sub stance approved the minority holding | of Judge Hook that the roads were | competitors and it was just as much l a violation of the law for one road to buy the controlling stock of a com petitor as it was for holding com pany. as in the Northern Securities l case, to buy the controlling stock of two competing companies. As the Northern Securities plan fell nearly ten years ago, so the Hartman plan fell today.
 Establishes Powerful Precedent.
 The circuit court for the district of Utah was directed to supervise the 1 separation of the two roads after | hearings, and in emergency to ap- | point a receiver to sell the stock. The Union Pacific, if the circuit court sees | proper, may retain control of the old Central Pacific line from ogden tC San Francisco. The decision of the lower court that there was no viola tion of the law in the attempt to ac- quire the Northern Pacific stock and the stock of the Atchison. Topeka and Santa Ere Railway company, after wards abandoned, and certain inter est in the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad company was al 1 lowed to stand.
 It is the general belief here that the application of the decision to the rail- road situation of the country will bt widespread, placing a powerful prece- dent in the hands of the attorney general to prevent the consolidation ot competing roads.
 Cannot Enforce Competition.
 Justice Day in his opinion said:
 We take it that 1t may be regarded as settled thatS combination whicl places railroads engaged in interstate commerce in such relation as to ere ate a single dominating control in on, corporation, whereby natural and ex isting competition in interstate com merce is unduly restricted or sup pressed, is within the condemnation o
 the act. While the law may not b. able to enforce competition, it cal reach combinations which render com petition impracticable.
 Suppression of Competition.
 'Nor do we think it can make an, difference that instead of resorting t
 a holding company, as was done il the Northern Securities case, the con
 trolling interest in the stock of on 7 corporation Is transferred to the other
 The domination and control, and tn
 power to suppress competition, are ac
 Quired in the one case no less than fl the other, and the resulting mischie at which the statute was aimed i equally effective whichever form
 adopted"