Attorney-General Wickersham on the Big Trust Cases "Those who have thoughtlessly yielded
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of facts is required, particularly when
to the superficial conclusion resulting
intent becomes a necessary considera
from the application by the Chief Justice of the rule of reason to the interpretation of the Sherman law,” he said, "can find
tion, but this much surely may now be said to be beyond controversy, that ordinary agreements of purchase and sale, of partnership or of corporate
but little to justify the idea that the Sherman law has been made ineffective
organization do not violate the first
by those two decisions, for precisely
section of the Sherman act, even though
the contrary is established by these
incidentally and to a limited degree
two great judgments. The most cursory examination of the decree in the Tobacco case — the most casual consideration of the drastic and far-reaching remedy imposed — makes it perfectly apparent that the Sherman law, perhaps for the first time, has been demonstrated to be an actual, effective weapon for the accomplishment of the purpose for which
they may operate to restrain competi tion in interstate or foreign commerce
it
was
primarily enacted — namely,
between the parties to such agreements. But any contract, combination or asso ciation, the direct object and effect of which is to control prices, restrict output, divide territory, refrain from com petition or exclude or prevent others
from competing in any particular field of enterprise, imposes an undue re
the destruction of the great combina
straint upon trade and commerce, and
tions familiarly known as trusts." The Attomey-General reviewed the Standard Oil and Tobacco cases at length, and traced the history of the Sherman
is in violation of the first section of the act. "This principle applies to all associa tions of competitors of the character
law from its enactment, citing the im
usually known as pools, to agreements with so-called wholesale or retail agents whereby the manufacture of an article, even though made according to some secret process or formula, seeks to con trol the price at which it may be sold
portant cases in which it had been invoked. He continued: “The only legitimate object and end of all government is the greatest good of the greatest number of people. The means by which this is attained vary in accordance with the experience and tem perament of the people. All history demonstrates the fact that the greatest prosperity to the state has resulted from
allowing to individual effort in trade and commerce the utmost freedom consistent with society at large. The area of uncertainty in the law has been greatly narrowed and its scope and effect have been pretty clearly defined. The school of literal interpretation has been repudiated and the application of
by purchasers directly or indirectly from the manufacturer. It applies also to
attempts
to
control
competition
between independent concerns by means of a common stock holding trust, whether
individual or corporation holder. “Size alone does not constitute mo nopoly. The attainment of a dominant position in a business acquired as the result of honest enterprise and normal methods of business development is not a violation of the law. But unfair methods of trade, by destroying and
a rule of reasonable construction de clared. HThere will always be a field of un
excluding competitors by means of interoorporate stockholdings, or by
certainty in so far as an investigation
or potential competitors, whereby the
means of agreements between actual
