Antitrust and Trade Regulation laws aim to promote free competition in the marketplace. Agreements or cooperative efforts by two or more entities that affects or restrains competitors is illegal under these laws. The Sherman Act makes illegal any contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce and makes monopolies and attempts, combinations, or conspiracies to monopolize illegal. The Clayton Act regulate price discrimination, tying and exclusive dealing contracts, stock acquisition and interlocking directorates.
Linville is a community centered just south of the US 221 and NC 105 intersection in Avery County, North Carolina. The community -- at times known as Clay or Porcelain -- was founded in 1891 and named for William and John Linville, who were killed by Cherokees in 1766. The East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad ("Tweetsie") passed through the community from 1916 till 1940, when a major flood washed away the tracks;; the old rail route later became NC 105 in 1956.