Opinion ID: 1547000
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Order of Commission.

Text: The order was divided into three divisions. The first was directed to all of the respondents and forbade conspiracy for the publication or circulation of any false or misleading statements concerning the financial standing, business or business methods of the Equity, its officers or stockholders, or of the Exchange, its officers or members; and for institution of vexatious or unfounded suits against the Equity with the purpose of hindering or obstructing its business or of injuring its credit or reputation. The second division of the order was directed at the Chamber, its directors, officers, members and representatives and forbade the acts and things following: (1) Combining and conspiring among themselves or with others directly or indirectly to induce, persuade or compel and from inducing, persuading or compelling any of the members of said Chamber, their agents or employees, to refuse to buy from, sell to, or otherwise deal with the St. Paul Grain Exchange or its members or the Equity Co-operative Exchange, or its stockholders, or the customers of any of them, because of the patronage dividend plan of doing business adopted by the said Equity Co-operative Exchange, or by any of the members of the said St. Paul Grain Exchange, as more particularly set forth in paragraph (4) infra of this order. (2) Hindering, obstructing or preventing any telegraph company or other distributing agent from furnishing continuous or periodical price quotations of grains to the St. Paul Grain Exchange, or its members, or to the Equity Co-operative Exchange or its stockholders. (3) Passing or enforcing any rule or regulations, or enforcing any usage or custom, that prohibits or prevents members of the respondent Chamber from conducting their business of dealing in grain according to the co-operative method of marketing grain or according to the patronage dividend plan, like or similar to the method or plan adopted by the Equity Co-operative Exchange. (4) Denying to any duly accredited representatives of any organization or association of farmer grain growers or shippers admission to membership in said respondent Chamber, with full and equal privileges enjoyed by any or all of its members or by any or all concerns represented by membership in said respondent Chamber of Commerce, because of the plan or purpose on the part of such organization or association to pay or propose to pay patronage dividends or to operate or propose to operate according to the co-operative plan of marketing grain, namely, the plan of returning any portion or all of its earnings or surplus to its patrons or members on the basis of patronage, whether such earnings or surplus is derived from charging patrons or members commissions or otherwise. (5) Passing or enforcing any rule or regulation or enforcing any usage or custom, that compels shippers of grain to Minneapolis, Minnesota, from country points or from St. Paul, Minnesota, to pay commission or other charges, unless and until like commissions and charges are paid by shippers of grain to Minneapolis from Omaha, Nebraska, or from Kansas City, Missouri, or other such favored markets. (6) Passing or enforcing any rule or regulation, or enforcing any usage or custom, that prohibits members of the respondent Chamber, when buying grain on track at country points from paying therefor more than the market price of similar grain prevailing at that time in the Exchange Room of the respondent Chamber, less freight, commissions and other charges. (7) Promulgating, interpreting or enforcing any rule, custom, regulation or usage in such manner as to require any member of respondent Chamber to pay to the farmer, or country shipper or other person, a price for grain limited to a price equivalent to or identical with the Minneapolis market price, or otherwise limit the exercise of free will and individual independent judgment of any such member as to the price which he shall pay, or which he desires to pay farmers, country shippers, or other for grain on track at country points. The third division of the order required respondents to report in detail in writing to the Commission, within sixty days of service of the order upon them, the way in which they had complied with the order.