Minnesota v. Northern Securities Co.

Citations

• 123 F. 692
• 1903 U.S. App. LEXIS 4934

Syllabus

<p>1. Monopolies—Combinations in Restraint of Trade and Commerce— Minnesota Statute.</p> <p>The anti-trust law of Minnesota (Laws 1899, p. 487, c. 359), making unlawful any contract or combination in restraint of trade or commerce within the state, is in substantially the same language as the Shérman anti-trust law (Act July 2, 1890, e. 647, 26 Stat. 209 [U. S. Comp. St. 1001, p. 3200]), and must receive a similar construction. Following the decisions of the United States Supreme Court construing the latter act, the Minnesota law applies to railroads, and any contract or arrangement between railroad companies for the purpose and having the effect of preventing competition by fixing rates to be maintained by the parties is in violation of its provisions; but contracts or combinations which do not directly and necessarily affect transportation, or rates therefor, are not in restraint of trade or commerce, nor within the statute, even though they may remotely and indirectly appear to have some probable effect in that direction.</p> <p>2. Same—Railroads—Stock-Holding Corporation.</p> <p>A holding corporation organized by individual stockholders of two railroad companies, owning and operating substantially parallel and competing lines of railroad within the state of Minnesota, for the sole purpose of acquiring, by the exchange of its own stock therefor, stock of the two companies, and holding and voting the same, but having no power dr franchise to operate a railroad, is not in violation of the Minnesota anti-trust law (Laws 1899, p. 487, c. 359), which provides that “any contract, agreement, arrangement, or conspiracy, or any combination in the form of a trust or otherwise * * * which is in restraint of trade or commerce within this state, * * * is hereby prohibited and declared to be unlawful,” where the purpose of its promoters was thereby to acquire and retain in the same hands a majority of the stock of one or both companies, to insure uniformity of policy and stabi