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The Commoner
VOL. 14, NO. 6
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The Administration's Anti-Trust Bills
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Text of the Three Measures Passed by the House of Repfesentatives, June 5, 1914
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Clayton Omnibus Anti-Trust Bill
''IT; R. inC57. An act to supplomcnt existing
laws against unlawful restraints and monopo
lies, and for othor purposes.
Do it enacted by tho senate and house of rep
resentatives of tho United States of America in
congress assembled, that "anti-trust laws," as
usod heroin, includes tho act entitled "An act to
protect trade and commerce against unlawful re
straints and monopolies," approved July second,
eighteon hundred and ninoty; sections sovonty
throo to sovonty-sevon, inclusive, of an act en
titled "And act to roduco taxation, to provido
rovonuo for tho government and for other pur
poses," of August twenty-seventh, eighteen hun
dred and ninety-four; an act entitled "An act
to amond sections seventy-three and saventy-six
of tho act of August twenty-seventh, eighteen
hundred and ninety-four, entitled 'An act to reduce-
taxation, to provido revenue for the gov
ernment, and for other purposes,' " approved
Fobruary twelfth, nineteen hundred and
thirtoon; and also this act.
"Commerce," as usod herein, means trade or
commorco among tho several states and with
foreign nations, or botween tho District of
Columbia or any territory of tho United States
and any state, territory or foreign nation, or be
twoon any insular possessions or other places
undor tho jurisdiction of the United States, or
botwoon any such possession or place and any
stato or territory of tho United States or tho
District of Columbia or any foreign nation, or
within tho District of Columbia or any territory
or icny inBuiar possession. or other place iinder
-tho jurisdiction of tho Unitod States.
Tho word "person" or "persons" wherever
used in this act shall be deemed to include cor
porations and associations, existing under or au
thorized by tho laws of either the United States,
tho laws of any of the territories, the laws of
any state, or the laws of any foreign country.
Sec. 2. That any person engaged in commerce
who shall either directly or indirectly discrim
inate in price between different purchasers of
commodities in tho same or different sections or
communities, which commodities are sold for
use, consumption, or resale within the United
States or any territory thereof or tho District of
Columbia or any insular possession or other
Place undor the jurisdiction of thq Unitod States,
with tho purpose or intent thereby to destroy or
wrongfully injur tho business of a competitor,
of either such purchaser or seller, shall bo
deomod guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon con
viction thereof shall bo punished by a fine not
oxceoding $5,000, or by imprisonment not ex
ceeding ono year, or by both, in the discretion
of tho court: Provided, That nothing herein
contained shall p'rovont discrimination in price
botwoon purchasers of commodities on account
of differences in the grade, quality, br quantity
of tho commodity sold, or that makes only due
allowance for difference in the cost of transpor
tation: And provided further, That nothing here
in contained shall prevent persons engaged in
Belling goods, wares, or merchandise in com
merce from selecting their own customers ex
cept as provided in section three of this act'
Sec. 3. That it shall bo unlawful for the
owner, operator, or transporter of the product
or products of any mine, oil or gas well, reduc
tion works, refinery, or hydroelectric plant pro
ducing coal, oil, gas, or hydroelectric energy or
for any person controlling the product thereof
engaged in soiling such product in commerce to
refuse arbitrarily to sell such product to a re
sponsible person, firm, or corporation who ap
plies, to purchase such product for use, consump
tion, or rosale within tho United States or any
territory thereof or the District of Columbia- or
any insular possession or other place undor the
jurisdiction of the Unitod States, and any person
violating this section shall be deemed guilty of
a1 misdemeanor and shall bo punished as pro
vided in tho preceding section.
Sec. 4. That any person engaged in com
merce who shall lease or make a sale of coodn
wares, merchandise, machinery, supplies nr
other commodities for use, consumption o'r re
sale within the United States, or any territory
thereof or the District of Columbia or any insular
possession or other place under the jurisdiction
of the United States, or fix a price charged there
for, or discount from, or rebaU upon such price,
on tho condition, agreement, or understanding
that tho lessee or purchaser thereof Bhall not
use or deal in tho goods, wares, merchandise, ma
chinery, supplies, or other commodities of a com
petitor or competitors of the lessor or sellor
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and
upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a
fine not exceeding $5,000, or by1 imprisonment
not exceeding one year, or by both, in the dis
cretion of the court.
Sec. 5. That any person who shall be injured
in his business or property by reason of any
thing forbidden in the anti-trust laws may sue
therefor in any district court of the United
States in the district in which the defendant re
sides or is found or has an agent, without re
spect to the amount in controversy, and shall re
cover three-fold the damages by him sustained,
and the cost of suit, including a1 reasonable at
torney's fee.
Sec. 6. That whenever in any suit or pro
ceeding in equity hereafter brought by or on be
half of the United States under any of the anti
trust laws there shall have been rendered a final
judgment or decree to the effect that a defend
ant has entered into a contract, combination in
tho form of trust or otherwise, or conspiracy, in
restraint of trade or commerce, or has monop
olized, or attempted to monopolize or combined
with any person or nerson to monopolize, any
part of commerce, in violation of any of the anti
trust laws, said judgment or decree shall, to the
full extent to which such judgment br decree
would constitute in any other proceeding an
estoppel as between the United States and such
defendant,', constitute against such defendant
conclusive evidence of the same facts, and be
conclusive as to the same questions of law in
favor of any pther party in any, action or pro
ceeding brought under" or involving, the provi
sions of any of the anti-trust laws.
Whenever any suit or proceeding in equity is
hereafter brought by or on behalf of the United
States, under any of the anti-trust laws, the
statute of limitations in respect of each and every
private right of action, arising under such anti
trust laws, and based, in whole or in part, on
any matter complained of in said suit or proceed
ing in equity, shall be suspended during the
pendency of such suit or proceeding in equity.
Sec. 7. That nothing1 contained in the anti
trust laws shall be construed to forbid the ex
istence and operation of fraternal, labor, con
sumers, agricultural, or horticultural organiza
tions, orders, or associations instituted for the
purposes of mutual help, and not having capital
stock or conducted for profit, or to forbid or re
- strain individual members of such organizations
orders or associations from carrying out the
legitimate objects thereof; nor shall such organ
izations, orders, or associations, or the members
thereof, be held or construed to be illegal com
binations or conspiracies in restrain of trado
under the anti-trust laws. ' '
Nothing contained in the anti-trust laws shall
ho construed to forbid associations of traffic
operating, accounting, or other officers of com
mon carriers for the purpose of conferring
among themselves or of making any lawful
agreement as to any matter which is subject to
the regulating or supervisory jurisdiction of the
interstate commerce commission, but all such
ma ters shall continue to be subject to such
jurisdiction of tho commission, and all sue
agreements shall be entered and kept of record
by the carriers, parties thereto, and shall at all
times be open to inspection by the commission,
but no such agreement shall go into effect ir
become operative until the same shall have first
been submitted to, and approved by, the in er
Btato commerce commission: Provided Thnf
nothing in this act shall be construed as modify
ing existing laws prohibiting the pooling of
earnings or traffic, or existing laws against joint
agreements by common . carriers to maintain
rcites.
Sec. 8. That no corporation engaged in com
merce shall acquire, directly or indirectly, the
whole or any part of the stock or other share
capital of andther Corporation "engaged also in
commence, where the effect of such acquisition is
to eliminate or substantially lessen, competition
between the corporation whose stock is so ac
quired and the corporation making the acqui
sition, or to create a monopoly of any line of
trade in any section or community.
No corporation shall acquire, directly br in
directly, the whole or any part of the stock or
other share capital of two or more corpora
tions engaged, in commerce where the effect of
such acquisition, or the use of such stock by tho
voting or granting of proxies or otherwise, is to
eliminate or substantially lessen competition be
tween such corporations, or any of them, whose
stock or other share capital is so acquired or to
create a monopoly of any line of' trade in any
section br community. .
This section shall not apply to corporations
purchasing such stock solely for investment and
not using the same by voting or otherwise to
bring about, or in attempting to bring about, the
substantial lessening of competition. Nor shall
anything contained in this section prevent a cor
poration engaged in commerce from causing the
formation of subsidiary corporations for the
actual carrying on of their immediate lawful
business, or the natural and legitimate branches
or extensions thereof, or from owning and hold
ing all or a part of the stock of such subsidiary
corporations, when the effect of such formation
is not to eliminate or substantially lessen com
petition. Nothing contained in this section shall be held
to affect or impair any right heretofore legally
acquired.: Provided, That nothing in this para
graph shall make stockholding relations be
tween corporations legal w-hen such relations
constitute .violations of the anti-trust laws.
Nor shall anything herein, contained be con
strued to prohibit any railroad corporation from
aiding in the construction of branch or short
line railroads so located as to become, feeders to
the main line of the company so aiding in such
construction or from acquiring or owning all
or any part of the stock of such branch line,' nor
to prevent, any railroad corporation from ac
quiring and owning all or any part .of the stock
of a branch or short line railroad constructed
by an independent company where there is no
substantial competition between the company
-owning the branch line so constructed and tho
company owning the- main line acquiring the
property or an interest therein, nor to prevent
any railroad company from extending any of
its lines through the medium , of the acquisition
of stock or.ptherwise. of any other railroad com
pany where there is no substantial .competition
between the company extending its lines and the
company whose stock, ' property, or an interest
therein is so acquired.
A violation of any of the provisions of this
section shall be deemed a misdemeanor, and
shall be punishable by a fine not- exceeding
$5,0.00, or by imprisonment not exceeding one
year, or by both, in the discretion of the court.
Sec, 9. That from and after two years from
the date of the approval of this act no person
who is engaged as an individual, or who is a
member of a partnership, or is a director or
other officer of a corporation that is engaged in
the business, in whole or in part, of producing or
selling equipment, materials, or supplies to, or
in the construction or maintenance of, railroads
or other common carriers engaged in com
merce, shall act as a director or other officer or
employee of any other corporation or common
carrier engaged in commerce to which he, or
such partnership or corporation, sells or leases,
directly or indirectly, equipment, materials or
supplies, or for which he or such partnership or
corporation, directly pr indirectly, engages in
the work of construction or maintenance; and
after the expiration of said period no person who
is engaged as an individual or who is a member
of a partnership or is a; director or other ofilcer
of a corporation whiqh is engaged; Jn the conduct
of a bank .or trust company shall act as a direo-
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