or any of the necessaries of life, are monopolies, and intolerable, and ought to receive the condemnation of all courts. In my judgment, not only is the enterprise in which the Diamond Match Company is engaged an unlawful one, but the contract in question in this case, being made to further its objects and purposes, is void upon the ground that it is against public policy."

The court refuses to construe the contract or in any way aid the enterprise.

Daniel Lovejoy and E. W. Lovejoy v. Jacob Michels.

88 Mich., 15. Statement.

October 16, 1891.

Plaintiffs sold machine knives to the defendant without an agreement as to the price. These knives were under the control of an association, which kept the price at which they could be purchased in the market at a figure which was unreasonable. The question arises whether defendant must pay the fair price for these knives or the market price made by this association.

Opinion.

Held that such an association was unlawful; that the market price fixed by it would be given no weight in a court, and that all plaintiffs can recover is the fair price for the knives.

MINNESOTA.

STATUTES.

STATUTES OF MINNESOTA, 1891.

$6092. Conspiracy. If two or more persons conspire, * * * to commit any act injurious to the public health, to public morals, or to trade or commerce, or for the perversion or obstruction of justice, or of the due administration of the laws, each of them is guilty of a misdemeanor. [Passed in 1885.]

LAWS OF 1891, CHAP. 99.

AN ACT to prohibit pools and trusts in the State of Minnesota. Be it enacted by the legislature of the State of Minnesota, § 1. If any corporation organized under the laws of this state or any other state or country for transacting or conducting any kind of business in this state or any partnership or individual shall create, enter into, become member of or a party to any pool, trust, agreement, combination or confederation with any other corporation, partnership or individual to regulate or fix the price of oil, lumber, coal, grain, flour, provisions or any other commodity or article to be manufactured, mined, produced or sold, in this state, shall be deemed guilty of a conspiracy to defraud, and be subject to indictment and punishment, as provided in the next section.

§ 2. Any person or corporation found guilty of a violation of this act shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred (100) dollars nor to exceed five thousand (5,000) dollars, and be imprisoned in the state prison for not less than one year nor more than ten years: Provided, however, That this act shall not affect nor shall the same apply to any offense committed before the passage hereof; but any persons having violated the provisions of said section previous to the passage of this act, shall be prosecuted and

Section 2 is given as amended by an act of April 8, 1893.

punished in the manner and according to the provisions of the statutes in force at the time of the commission of said offense.

§ 3. Upon the trial of an indictment against a corporation or a copartnership for a violation of the first section of this act, all officers and agents of such corporation or copartnership shall be competent witnesses against the defendant on trial, and such officers and agents may be compelled to testify against such defendant and produce all books and papers, in his custody or under his control pertinent to the issue in such trial, and shall not be excused from answering any such question or from producing any books and papers because the same might tend to criminate such witness; but nothing which such witness shall testify to and no books or papers produced by him shall in any manner be used against him in any suit, civil or criminal, to which he is a party.

§ 4. All acts and parts of acts in conflict with this act be and the same are hereby repealed.

§ 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved April 20, 1891.

LAWS OF 1899, CHAP. 359.

AN ACT to prevent the organization of trusts and to provide in certain cases for the forfeiture of the charter of corporations organized under the laws of this State, and to prevent corporations, trusts or combinations under certain circumstances from doing business or enforcing contracts in respect thereto, under the laws of this State.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota : § 1. Any contract, agreement, arrangement, or conspiracy, or any combination in the form of a trust or otherwise, hereafter entered into which is in restraint of trade or commerce within this State or in restraint of trade or commerce between any of the people of this State and any of the people of any other State or country, or which limits or tends to limit or control the supply of any article, commodity or utility, or the articles which enter into the manufacture of any article or [of] utility, or which regulates, limits or controls or raises or tends to regulate, limit, control or raise the market price of any article, commodity or utility, or tends to limit or regulate the production of any such article, commodity or utility, or in any manner destroys, limits or interferes with open and

free competition in either the production, purchase or sale of any commodity, article of utility is hereby prohibited and declared to be unlawful.

That when any corporation heretofore or hereafter created, organized or existing under the laws of this State, whether general or special, hereafter unites in any manner with any other corporation wheresoever created, or with any individual, whereby such corporation surrenders or transfers, by sale or otherwise, in whole or in part, its franchise, rights or privileges or the control or management of its business to any other corporation or individual, or whereby the business or the management or control of the business of such corporation is limited, changed or in any manner affected, and the purpose or effect of such union or combination is to limit, control or destroy competition in the manufacture or sale of any article or commodity, or is to limit or control the production of any article or commodity, or is to control or fix the price or market value of any article or commodity, or the price or market value of the material entering into the production of any article or commodity or in case the purpose or effect of such union or combination is to control or monopolize in any manner the trade or commerce, or any part thereof, of this State, or of the several States, such union, combination, agreement, arrangement or contract is hereby prohibited and declared to be unlawful.

§2. Every person who shall either directly or indirectly make any such contract, agreement or arrangement, or enter into any such combination, conspiracy or trust as defined in section one (1) of this act, shall be guilty of a felony and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500), nor more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or by imprisonment in the state's prison for not less than three (3) years nor more than five (5) years.

§ 3. Any corporation heretofore or hereafter created, organized or existing under the laws of this State which shall hereafter either directly or indirectly make any contract, agreement or arrangement, or enter into any combination, conspiracy or trust as defined in section (1) of this act, shall, in addition to the penalty prescribed in section two (2) of this act, forfeit its charter, rights and franchises, and it shall thereafter be unlawful for such corporation to engage in business, either as a corporation or as a part of any corporation, trust or monopoly, except as to the final disposition of its property under the laws of this State.

Any corporation organized under the laws of any other state, territory or country, which is now located or which may hereafter be located within this State, and engages in the manufacture, production or sale of any article therein which shall either directly or indirectly make any contract, agreement or arrangement or enter into any combination, conspiracy or trust as defined in section one (1) of this act, shall, in addition to the penalty prescribed in section two (2) of this act, be prohibited from doing any further business in this State except as to the final disposition of its property under the laws of this State.

§ 4. Any contract by any person, partnership, association or corporation, whether domestic or foreign, made in conducting business contrary to the provisions of section one (1) of this act, shall not be enforced in any court of this State in favor of such persons, partnership, association or corporation. § 5. Any person who shall enter into any correspondence, negotiations or agreement in this State, or who shall, being a resident of this State, go into another state, territory or country for the purpose of entering into any negotiations or agreement which tend to the formation of any contract or combination forbidden by this act, shall be guilty of a felony, and be subject to all the penalties of this act.

§ 6. That for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act any citizen of this State may, and it is hereby declared to be the duty of the attorney general, to institute, in the name of the State, proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction against any person, partnership, association or corporation who may be guilty of violating any of the provisions of section one (1) of this act, for the purpose of imposing the penalties imposed by this act or securing the enforcement of section three (3) hereof: Provided, That when such proceedings are instituted by any one other than the attorney general, the State shall not be in any manner liable for the costs or for any of the expenses of such proceedings: And provided further, That when the attorney general deems it necessary, he is hereby authorized to employ counsel to assist in the prosecution of any action brought under the provisions of this act.

§ 7. The word person as used in this act shall be construed to include any corporation or association formed or existing under any law of this State or any other state or country.

§ 8. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved April 21, 1899.