Evening star., 1939-12-04
By ]. A. FOX.

The Government scored VlcCOIy
in its antitrust drive today when
the Supreme Court held that milk
handlers in the Chicago marketing
area could be prosecuted under the
monopoly laws.
The decision was read by Chief
Justice Hughes and in it the court
reversed the finding Of the District
Court where Judge Charles E.
Woodward had sustained a defense
demurrer to an indictment against
43 individuals and IA corporations
and groups on the grounds that milk
and other agricultural commodities
were removed from the purview OF
the Sherman Antitrust Act by the
Agricultural Marketing Act and that
the Secretary of Agriculture was
adequately empowered to regulate
or prevent the offenses alleged by
the Governmental conspiracy to fix
both the prices paid producers and
the sale price in Chicago and to con-
troll the distribution and supply Of
milk in Chicago.
The case is now remanded for
trial.
Our conclusion" said the court,
lis that the Agricultural Adjustment
Act as re-enacted and amended by
the Agricultural Marketing Agree
ment Act, affords no ground for
constituting the Sherman Act as in
applicable to the charges
Decision Unanimous.
The decision was unanimous.
The court upset another defense
contention also. declaring that CO.
operative organizations are not ex-
empt from prosecution by reason of
the Capper-Volstead Act.
The court did not, however, pass
on the applicability of the Sherman
Antitrust Act to labor unions,
which also are involved in this case.
"The contention of the defendants
who are labor officials that the Sher-
man Act does not apply to labor
unions or labor union activities is
not open on this appeal" the court
said. 'The District Court did not
construe the Sherman Act as in
applicable to these defendants and
the Governments appeal under the
restriction of the Criminal Appeals
Act does not present that question"
Counsel for the American Fedora
tion of Labor had raised the question
OF applicability of the antitrust
act to labor unions in the arguments
before the court and a ruling on
this particular point had been
awaited as offering a possible in
dication of the courts attitude in
the building industry probe where
antitrust indictments have been
returned against number of labor
union officials.
List of Defendants.
Defendants in the milk case are
the Associated Milk Dealers, Inc,
Chicago distributors; the Pure Milk
Association, the sales and bargain
ing agency for more than 10000
member dairy farmers in Illinois,
Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigans
the Milk Wagon Drivers Union and
seven officers, the Milk Dealers Bot
tie Exchange, 10 corporations, in
Guiding the Borden company; DR..
Herman NJ Bundesen. president Of
the Chicago Board of Health, and
two aides, and Capt. Daniel Gilbert.
an investigator of the Chicago
States attorneys Office.
The board of health, according to
the indictment, figured in the case,
reputedly giving preferential treat
ment to those members in the pro-
ducer and distributor organizations,
to the detriment OF independent
dairymen.
The lower court had said that the
labor, agriculture and horticultural
cooperative organizations were ex-
cepted from the broad and sweeping
terms of the Sherman Act. The
Government argued that the Sher-
man Act is sweeping and unqualified