Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-10-14
NORTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE IS
NOT Combination IN RESTRAINT OF
TRADE GOVERNMENT WILL APPEAL

New York, oct. 1S.-The North At
lantic Conference, if Invested of one
of it's business features, declared by
the government to be obnoxious, is not
a combination in restraint of trade
and competition under the Sherman
antitrust law, according to a decision
handed down in the United States dis
trict court here today. Against TINS
feature-the operation of the so-cailed
fighting ships-an Injunction is issued.
The government suit against the
conference, composed of trans Attain
! tic steamship lines, in January, 1911,
! pleading for it's dissolution. Under the
! decision today, the government has not
prevailed upon the main part of its
case, as the courts decree with costs
to the defendant, dismissed all the
government prayers except the one
abiding to the fighting ships"
Government attorneys announced
late today that an appeal from the
decision here would be taken direct to
the United States supreme court.
"The fighting ships" were vessels
which the North Atlantic Conference
put into operation TO compete with
ships which lines not in the conference
employed to carry Storage passengers
at rates under those charged by the
conference.
The court in the opinion handed
down by United States Judge E. Hen
ry Lacombe says:
1.-THE testimony fails to satisfy that
the defendants, or any of them. have
charged excessive or exorbitant rates
for the transportation of passengers
of any class and particularly when it
is considered that vastly more in the
way of safety, speed, sanitary condi-
tons, physical comfort and so on, is
now given to the passenger than was
given to him before these agreements
and conferences were entered into"
The decree holds that the main sub
ject matter of the controversy-the
controlling of transportation so as to
allot proportionate shares of 1t to the
defendants who are members OF the
CONFERENCE.-The recently been AK
haustively considered by the con-
gressional standing committee on
merchant marine and fisheries. Judge
Lacome sets forth that this commit
tees report showed that it had before
it substantially the same evidence as
that contained in the record of the suit
now settled.
The committees report, the court
finds is most persuasive to the conclu-
sion that in view of the peculiarities
of ocean transportation the method
adopted by the defendants, II purged
of the obnoxious feature-the lighting
ships a reasonable one which, so far
from restraining trade, fosters and
protects il by giving it stablhty
which ensured more satisfactory pub
lie service for all concerned.
without this method or some thing
like, there would be, in the language
of the committee, one or other OF Two
results-the lines would either engage
in rate wars which would mean the
elimination of the weak and the sur
vival of the strong, or to avoid
costly struggle they would consolidate
through common ownership,
Either would mean monopoly fully
as effective and more so than can exist
by virtue of this agreement 1t seems,
therefore, that this particularly COM
bination comes fairly within the ex-
ception to a strictly literal construc-
ton of the statute which is indicated
in the Standard Oil-Tobacco cases.
Judge Lacombe quotes the supreme
courts decisions in the Standard Oh
and American Tobacco Co. dissolution
suits:
THE effect of these decisions" Judge
Lacombe holds, seems to be that the
contracts and methods of business
which do in fact restrain or interfere
with competition are not to be held
obnoxious to the provisions of the act,
unless such restraint or interference
is unreasonable or undue
The defendants against whom the
Fighting ships" injunction issues arc
the following steamship lines and in
dividuals
Hamburg American; international
Mercantile Marine; American; Inter-
national Navigation Co, Ltd; Anchor;
! Henderson Bros Ltd; Dominion; Gun
ard; British and North Atlantic Steam
Navigation Co, Ltd; Holland-Amer-
lea: North German Lloyd; Red Star;