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Show TRUSTS MCCS23 OUT BY SUPKME COURT; MERGER . OF RAILROADS UNLAWFUL Northern Securities Company Held to Be in Restraint of j Trade and Subject to Provisions Pro-visions of Sherman Law. i - I mIrket not generally affected. I ! a NEW TORK, March 14. J. J. Hill, president of the Northern Securl- tfea company, received news of the Supreme court's decision at the com- 0 pany's offices in this city. Mr. Hill declined to discuss the matter, ex- cept to say: ' "There is nothing to be said at this time. The properties of the North-" ern Securities company are still there. Thy are as good as ever." ' At the offices of J. P. Morgan & Co. no expression regarding .the de- VjS. clsion could be had. A member of the firm stated, however, that he was A'i not surprised. g The stock market was not generally affected by the decision. The gen- S) eral list, which made some improvement before noon, sold off for the most part jwhen news of the decision came out. On the curb Northern Se- curities was the center of interest. It declined point, from 85 to 85, on news of the decision, and rallied to 87, and later was quoted at 87. It to be unnecessary to determine the right of owners of railroad stock to sell the property, nor wasjt true that the right of the Securities company to own and hold railroads is the only question Involved. Such contentions are wide of the mark mere men of straw. All that the Government complains of is the existence ex-istence of a corporation to repress commerce, com-merce, and is not concerned with the other points. Constitutional Question. ' Coming to the plea of the railroads that the anti-trust laws should be declared de-clared unconstitutional, he said that the court could not see its way to that end. "If," he went on, "the Securities company's com-pany's contentions are sound, why may not all the railroads of the United States enter into a combination and by the device de-vice of a holding company or corporation corpora-tion control rates throughout the country?" coun-try?" Justice Tfarlan also took occasion to Fay that there had been nothing In the Securities company's certificates of Incorporation In-corporation to Indicate Its purpose to be that of destroying commerce and be therefore absolved the State of New Jersey from any charge of such knowledge knowl-edge in advance. It might be true that a Federal court held no power to dissolve dis-solve a corporation of a State, but this circumstance could not be anlndication of powerlessness to enforce the law, than which no corporation is stronger. No device could suffice to prevent this enforcement en-forcement of the national statutes. ILLEGAL TRUSTS, SAYS VAN SANT, ARE PROHIBITED ST. PAUL, Minn.. March l.-Gov. Van Saht, when told of the decision In the merger case was highly elated. He said: "I am much gratified with the result of the decision, for in my opinion the decision deci-sion means more to the people of our country than any event since the great Civil war. It will for all time prevent the formation of Illegal trusts anil unlawful combination!!." BULLETIN. WASHINGTON, March 14. The merger decision was concurred in by Justices Brown, Brewer, McKenna and Day, while the Chief Justice and Justices White, Peckham and Holmes dissented. Justice Brewer, in concurring, concur-ring, did so for different reasons than that of the majority, however. WASHINGTON, March 14. The opinion opin-ion of the Supreme court of the United f tates in this case of the Northern Securities Se-curities company vs. the United States, Involving the merger of the Northern Pacific and the Great Northern Railroad companies, was handed down today and was In favor of the Government. The opinion was tead by Justice Harlan. The opinion of the Circuit court for the District of Minnesota was affirmed. The effect Is to sustain the contention that the Sherman anti-trust law applies to railroad combinations of the character charac-ter in question. Prevents Competition. Justice Harlan said that in the merger of the two roads the stockholders disappeared disap-peared and reappeared in the Securities company, the two thus becoming prac-tiaclly prac-tiaclly consolidated In a holding company, com-pany, the principal object being to prevent pre-vent competition. "No scheme or device," says the opinion, opin-ion, "could (certainly more effectively come within the prohibition of the antitrust anti-trust law and it Is within the meaning of the act, a trust." Widespread Interest in Case. The case attracted greater attention than any other suit before the court since the first Insular cases were decided and has been regarded by bench and ba.as equal in importance with those i and with the Income tax case. It waX argued In December last for two days and attracted general attention at that time, as it did previously when the decision was rendered by the Circuit court for the District of Minnesota. First Decision of Case. The action was brought in the Circuit court and the law of February 11, 1903. which was for the purpose of expediting the case and was heard by the four Circuit Cir-cuit court Justices of the circuit. They united In a decision favorable to the United States and apposed to the contentions con-tentions of the railroad companies. . The suit was instituted by the United States against the Northern Securities company and the two railroad companies, com-panies, the! Great Northern and the Northern. Pacific, and their leading stockholders, for the purpose of dlssolv- - ing the merger of the two roads, which the United States declared had been created cre-ated by the! creation of a holding company, com-pany, the Securities company. Violation of Sherman Law. The consolidation was claimed to be in violation of) the Sherman anti-trust law. It was claimed on behalf of the Government Govern-ment that this consolidation was In ef-f-ct a pool created to promote the Interests, Inter-ests, not of ione system at the expenae of the other, but of both at the expense of Ihe public. I . The railroads claimed that the transfer of the stock of the two companies to the securities company was In the nature of a sale perfectly legitimate. Power of Congress Clear. The contentions of the securities company com-pany were reviewed by Justice Harlan, who said they had received full attention, lie quoted the various opinions Involving the trust question, saying that from them H is ttf be gathered that all contracts In restraint of, trade, reasonable or unreasonable, unrea-sonable, are prohibited by the Sherman law. and that Congress has the power to establish such regulations as are laid down In that law. Congress had power to enact the statute in detail. f ere Men of Straw." s to the' points made for the Securl- company. Justice Harlan said that contention that the law Is an interference inter-ference with the rights of individual States by which the companies are incorporated in-corporated I was not well founded. In such cases, he said, the authority of Congress is supreme, lis also declared 1 J |