Salt Lake Tribune | 1906-01-03 | Page 1 | Gas Company Claims Its Prices Too Low

GAS COMPANY CLAIMS IIS PIIICESjfli LOW Supreme Court Upholds It by City's Failure to Prove Trust. WASHINGTON. Jan. 2 The S ipremo court today. Ini an opinion by Justice Brewer, decided "the case of the Peoria Gaa and Electric company vs. the city of Peoria, III.. In favor of the company, reversing the findings of ItM United States Circuit court for the northern district dis-trict of Illinois. The case involved the constitutionality of a city ordinance fixing fix-ing the price of gns In Peorln and the action was Instituted to enjoin the enforcement en-forcement of the ordinance, Clnims Price Too Low. The company complained that the price fixed was unreasonably low and. therefore, there-fore, in contravention to the Fourteenth amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits ihe taking of ptopi-rtx without due process of law. The cltj charged, on the other hand, that the company had been guilt'.- of t mhlnlng with another ga companj to tlx rates and had thus violated the anti-trust law The circuit court neld the ordinance to be valid and Teas, illable Deals With Combination. In reversing the finding the Supreme court dealt exclusively with th" contention conten-tion of combination, h -ldlng that th- circuit cir-cuit court had not given due credence to the tepitmony taken before a master, and In ravening the case directed tltat further fur-ther examination he made into the agreement agree-ment between the two comianles. Justice Jus-tice Brew-er snld the testimony did not show that there had bc-n such nn agreement.