Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-10-14
WILL APPEAL COURT
DECISION LEGALIZING
STEAMSHIP POWER
Government Will Contest
Ruling Sustaining North
Atlantic Matchmaking
Agreement.

Shipping interests here consider the de-
clsion Of the United States District
Court in New York yesterday sustain
| ing steamship combines and approving
their methods of rate-fxing and pool
divisions one of the most far-reaching
| ever announced since there began prose-
| cutions under the Sherman antitrust
law.
They see close relation between this
decision and those of the United States
Supreme Court in the famous Standard
Oh and Tobacco Trust cases, when 1t
was declared that these combinations
had been guilty of q restraint of trade,
but that such restraint was reasonable"
In fact, these cases were held up by the
court yesterday as the ones on which the
steamship combine decision was based.
Despite the known position of the
United States Supreme Court in the mat
ter Of reasonable restraint" 1t was an
nounced today that the Attorney Cen
erals department. which conducted the
steamship dissolution case, would appeal
the decision to the highest court for a
final ruling
WHAT THE DECISION COVERS.
The District Court, in It's decision, en-
phaslzed these particular points:
There is nothing Illegal about steam
ship pools and rate agreements.
North Atlantic Passenger Conference
rate fixing and traffic allotment to MEM
bers of steamship combine are held to be
reasonable restraint of trade" and legal
under the Sherman law.
Operation of lighting ships" to keep
out competitors ruled to be obnoxious
to and prohibited by the law.
Government losses in contention that
steamship combine isan Illegal monopoly.
Court finds rates charged were not ex-
ceSsive or eXOrbitant.
Agreements approved as affordlng weap-
on for stability and better public service
and avoiding disastrous rate wars.
Decision based on Supreme Courts In
depreciation of rule of reason in Stand
ard OIL and Tobacco Trust cases.
DEFENDANTS IN THE SUIT.
The dissolution suit. which was filed by
Henry A. Wise, then Federal District At
torney, on January a. 1911, named as de-
PENDANTS with the neutrality-suspicious.,
Allan and Canadian Pacific Railway lines,
the international Mercantile Marine
(American Line); International Naviga-
tion Company, Limited (American Line):
the Anchor Line Henderson Brothars),
Limited: the Cunard Steamship Com
pany, Limited; British and North At
lantlc Steam Navigation Company,
LiIlteu NlJCHllHlOn Llne)s ftOllanQ-Amer-
lea Line; North German Lloyd Line: Red
Star Line; Russian East AsiatIc Steam
ship Company, Limited (Russian-Amer-
lean Line); Oceanic Steam Navigation
Company, Limited white Star I.ine);
Bryce j. Allan. Philip A. S. Franklin,
John Lee, William Coverley Charles p.
Summer, Emil L. Boas, Adrian Gips,
Gustav II. Schwab, Gustav H. Schwab,
Jr; Herman c. Won Post, Alexander e,
johnson and Max Strauss.
GOVERNMENTS CONVENTIONS.
The Governments petition. after telling
OF the sitting of competition by the use
of "hghting ships" in the North Atlantic
storage passenger traffic, asserted that
during the existence OF the alleged unlaw-
full combination and conspiracy the de-
arbitrarily fixed their rates for
steerage transportation in order TO brinn,
about an arbitrary division OF traffic and
to maintain rates at that artificial level
at which said traffic may be so monopo-
llzed and made TO yield the highest net
return to them"
The Government in its complaint also
asserted that at the time of the suit up-
wards OF 80 per cent. of the total steerage
passenger traffic between Europe and
North America was carried by ships be-
longing to the defendants, and upwards OF
75 per cent. of the teerage passenger
traffc was regulated limited and re-
strained by means of agreement AA''
and supplementary contracts.