Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 9.djvu/232

 21 8 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

upheld solely because the intention of restraining interstate com- merce was not shown.

In the recent Northern Securities Co. case the court seems to have gone one step farther. This case does not properly come under our discussion, because it has to deal with the law of railroad mergers, which has been excluded from this thesis, as pointed out above. It is invaluable, however, as indicating the development of the criterion in determining whether or not an act or combination is in violation of the anti-trust act of 1890. It is for the purpose of illustrating this development, and that alone, that the case is introduced here. The facts in the case were as follows : The Northern Pacific and the Great Northern Railroads are parallel, and heretofore competing roads, running from the Mississippi River to Puget Sound. The Northern Securities Co., a corporation organized under the laws of the state of New Jersey, purchased a large majority of the stock of both the competing roads. The question before the court was whether such a combination was a violation of the anti-trust law which forbids all combinations "in restraint of trade or com- merce." The defendants urged that it was not, on the following, among other grounds : ( I ) that anyone may legally hold prop- erty to any extent, and the anti-trust act only restricts the use of that property ; (2) that they can be enjoined from doing any act in restraint of trade, but that mere combination does not constitute such an act; (3) that the combination was formed, not to restrain, but to promote commerce, thus benefiting the public. The court, four judges sitting, unanimously held that the combination was illegal and void, and thus overruled the defenses interposed. This means that under the anti-trust act of 1890, combinations, though legally incorporated, may be dis- solved, even though there be no intention to restrain trade, but even where benefits might inure to the public. The mere fact that competition is eliminated is sufficient to condemn the combi- nation under this act, providing it affects interstate commerce.

Besides enlarging the construction of the anti-trust act, many think this recent decision announces the principle that shall solve the problem of corporate abuses in the United States.