SOUTH CAROLINA.

CONSTITUTION.

ART. IX, SEC. 13. The general assembly shall enact laws to prevent all trusts, combinations, contracts and agreements against the public welfare; and to prevent abuses, unjust discriminations and extortion in all charges of transporting and transmitting companies; and shall pass laws for the supervision and regulation of such companies by commission or otherwise, and shall provide adequate penalties, to the extent, if necessary for that purpose, of forfeiture of their franchises.

STATUTES.

All arrangements, contracts, agreements, trusts or combinations between two or more persons as individuals, firms or corporation made with a view to lessen, or which tend to lessen, full and free competition in the importation or sale of articles imported into this state, or in the manufacture or sale of articles of domestic growth, or of domestic raw material, and all arrangements, contracts, agreements, trusts or combinations between persons or corporations, designed or which tend to advance, reduce or control the price or the cost to the producer or to the consumer of any such product or article, and all arrangements, contracts, trusts, syndicates, associations or combinations between two or more persons as individuals, firms, corporations, syndicates or associations, that may lessen or affect in any manner the full and free competition in any tariff, rates, tolls, premiums or prices, or seeks to control in any way or manner such tariffs, rates, tolls, premiums or prices in any branch of trade, business or commerce, are hereby declared to be against public policy, unlawful and void; and any violation of the provision hereof shall be deemed, and is hereby declared to be, destructive of full and free competition and a conspiracy against trade, and any person or persons who may engage in any such conspiracy, or who shall, as prin

cipal, manager, director or agent, or in any other capacity, knowingly carry out any of the stipulations, purposes, prices, rates or orders made in furtherance of such conspiracy, shall, on conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars or more than five thousand dollars, and by imprisonment in the penitentiary not less than six months, or more than ten years, or, in the judgment of the court, by either such fine or such imprisonment. (Criminal Code, Sec. 212.)

Whenever complaint is made upon affidavit or affidavits showing a prima facie case of violation of the provisions of the preceding section by any corporation, domestic or foreign, it shall be the duty of the attorneygeneral to bring action against such domestic corporation to forfeit its charter, and for the purpose of such forfeiture he shall apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for an order restraining such offending corporation, and in cases where, in his discretion, it is necessary, for the immediate appointment of a receiver for such offending corporation, where such forfeiture affects a creditor or creditors of such offending corporation, and in case such violation shall be established the court shall adjudge the charter of such corporation to be forfeited, and such corporation shall be dissolved and its charter shall cease and determine; and in the case of such showing as to a foreign corporation an action shall be begun by the attorney-general in said court to determine the truth of such charge, and in case such charge shall be considered established the effect of the judgment of the court shall be to deny such corporation the recognition of its corporate existence in any court of law or equity in this state. But nothing in this section shall be construed to affect any right of action then existing against such corporation. (Criminal Code, Sec. 213.)

Any person or persons or corporation that may be injured or damaged by any such arrangement, contract, agreement, trust or combination described in section 212 may sue for and recover, in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state, of any person, persons or corporation operating such trust or combination, the full consideration or sum paid by him or them for any goods, wares, merchandise or articles the sale of which is controlled by such combination or trust. (Criminal Code, Sec. 214.)

Any and all persons may be compelled to testify in any action or prosecution under the three preceding sec

tions; provided, that such testimony shall not be used in any other action or prosecution against such witness or witnesses, any such witness or witnesses shall forever be exempt from any prosecution for the act or acts concerning which he or they testify. (Criminal Code, Sec. 215.) See also secs. 2840-7 of the Civil Code to same effect.

ANTI-TRUST ACT OF 1902.

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of South Carolina: Any corporation organized under the laws of this or any other state or country, and transacting or conducting any kind of business in this state, or any partnership or individual, or other association of persons whatsoever, who shall create, enter into, become a member of or a party to any pool, trust, agreement, combination, confederation or understanding with any other corporation, partnership, individual or any other person or association of persons, to regulate or fix the price of any article of manufacture, mechanism, merchandise, commodity, convenience, repair, any product of mining or any article or thing whatsoever, or to maintain said price when so regulated or fixed, or shall enter into, become a member of or a party to any pool, agreement, combination, contract, association or confederation to fix or limit the amount or quantity of any article of manufacture, mechanism, merchandise, commodity, convenience, repair, any product of mining, or any article or thing whatsoever, or the price or premium to be paid for insuring property against loss or damage by fire, lightning, storm, cyclone, tornado, or any other kind of policy issued by any corporation, partnership, individual or association of persons aforesaid, shall be deemed and adjudged guilty of a conspiracy to defraud, and to be subject to the penalties as provided by this act.

SEC. 2. A "monopoly" is any union, or combination, or consolidation, or affiliation of capital, credit, property, assets, trade, custom, skill or acts, or any other valuable thing or possession, by or between persons, firms or corporations, whereby any one of the purposes or objects porations, or associations of persons, firms or corporations, whereby any one of the purposes or objects mentioned in this act is accomplished, or sought to be accomplished, or whereby any one or more of said purposes are promoted or attempted to be executed or carried

out, or whereby the several results described herein are reasonably calculated to be produced; and a "monopoly " as thus defined and contemplated, includes not merely such combinations by and between two or more persons, firms or corporations acting for themselves, but is especially defined and intended to include all aggregations, amalgamations, affiliations, consolidations or incorporations of capital, skill, credit, assets, property, custom trade, or other valuable thing or possession, whether effected by the ordinary methods of partnership or by actual union under the legal form of a corporation, or an incorporated body resulting from the union of one or more distinct firms or corporations, or by the purchase, acquisition or control of shares or certificates of stocks or bonds, or other corporate property or franchises, and all corporations or partnerships that have been or may be created by the consolidation or amalgamation of the separate capital, stock, bonds, assets, credits, properties, custom, trade or corporate or firm belongings of two or more firms or corporations or companies, are especially declared to constitute monopolies, within the meaning of this act, if so created or entered into for any one or more of the purposes named in this act; and a monopoly," as defined in this section, is hereby declared to be unlawful and against public policy; and any and all persons, firms, corporations or associations of persons engaged therein shall be deemed and adjudged guilty of a conspiracy to defraud, and shall be subject to the penalties prescribed in this act.

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SEC. 3. If any person, persons, company, partnership, association or corporation engaged in the manufacture or sale of any article of commerce or consumption from the raw material produced or mined in this state shall, with the intent or purpose of driving out competition, or for the purpose of financially injuring competitors, sell at less than the cost of manufacture, or give away their manufactured products, for the purpose of driving out competition or financially injuring competitors engaged in the manufacture and refining of raw material in this state, said person, persons, company, partnership, association or corporation resorting to this method of securing a monopoly in the manufacture, refining and sale of the finished product produced or mined in this state, shall be deemed guilty of a conspiracy to form or secure a