January 30, 1905: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the case of Swift v. United States. It ruled that the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States -- Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 -- allowed the federal government to regulate monopolies if it has a direct effect on commerce.
It marked the success of the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt in destroying the "Beef Trust." TR, already known as "The Trust-Buster," had asked his Attorney General, Philander Knox, to investigate the industry in 1902. Ultimately, this case was the result.
The vote was unanimous, with all 9 Justices affirming the opinion: Chief Justice Melville Fuller, future Chief Justice Edward D. White, John Marshall Harlan, David J. Brewer, Henry B. Brown, Rufus W. Peckham, Joseph McKenna, William R. Day, and the Associate Justice who wrote the opinion, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
This case established a "stream of commerce" (or "current of commerce") argument that allows Congress to regulate things that fall into either category. In particular, it allowed Congress to regulate the Chicago slaughterhouse industry.
Even though the slaughterhouse supposedly dealt with only intrastate matters, the butchering of meat was considered merely a "station" along the way between cow and meat. Thus, as it was part of the greater meat industry that was between the several states, Congress can regulate it. The Court's decision halted price fixing by Swift & Company and its allies.
From its founding in 1855 until its purchase by JBS USA Holdings in 2007, Swift was headquartered in Chicago. Taylor Provisions, inventors of the meat product known as pork roll (often incorrectly identified as "Taylor ham"), is based in Trenton, New Jersey. I wish I could have seen the look on my face when I realized that there were meatpacking companies named Taylor and Swift.
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January 30, 1905 was a Monday. There were no scores on this day: Baseball and football were out of season, basketball was in its early stages, and hockey's Stanley Cup had been awarded on January 16, when the Ottawa Silver Seven, who became the original Ottawa Senators, beat the Dawson City Nuggets of the Yukon Territory.
