The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-05-02
4 LAWFUL CORPORATION NO
"IRUST."


The American Tobacco Company has
an agency in Illinois for the sale Of its
goods. and Illinois has an Attorney-Gcn-
eral who. If he is not a Populist, ought
to be one. This functionary has fur
nished an official opinion, in which he
declares the tobacco company a trust"
that is. doing business in Illinois I'm viola
ton of the law Of the state against
trusts. In this opinion this gentleman
declares the company to be zone Of the
most ingenious, OdiOus, dangerous ana
gigantic trusts" IN America, which has
attempted ITO take the law into partner
ship. 1t assumes a legal guise in order
TO conceal its nefarious purposes, or that
IL might more conveniently and success
fully carry out it's Illegal and vicious
ends. 1t verlhes the old saying that
devils when first formed take pleasing
shapes. 1t was conceived i'm fraud ana
habtuated by a resort to duplicity and
concealment'-wit much more to the
same effect
This very lurid language will probably
this company. and yet we feel assured
that if there IS any law whatever left in
this land (and We are persuaded there is
a good deal of it lefO, there is absolutely
nothing in it but the luric sound and
fury The facts Of this matter lie within
very narrow compass. The laws OF
New Jersey chartered the American TO-
bacco Company. AS soon as it came into
existence under the laws OF that State
II became entitled to exactly the same
consideration and treatment in every
other State of this Union that all otner
corporations are entitled to there.
It's charter allowed it to buy and be
come the owner Of real and personal
property. and to pay for what 1t pur-
chased with its stock which was per-
fectly lawful and sound transaction. IN
der the authority of It's charter 1t pur-
chased the property. brands and good
will of the partnership Of Allen Gin
ter. i'm Richmond; of Kimball q Co., of
Rochester. n. Y; of Goodwin q Co.. OF
New York; Of Duke & Co, Of North
Carolina, and the Kinney Tobacco Com
pany, and others, perhaps, paying Tor
what 1t purchased in each case with its
own stock. Now, this is the whole OF
the business Of the alleged trust" the
American Tobacco Company, and the law
yer who will say that there is anything
whatever in such an organization that
Is opposed TO any principle of the law
viii be noted at once by all other law
yers as an anomaly in the profession.
If this transaction could not be law
fully effected, then ii is not possible to
charter corporation and give ii authority
to acquire property.
What has been said so far has relation
exclusively TO the validity of the charter
of the tobacco company. II is as sound
an institution, from the standpoint or
the law, as any in America. 1t is true,
however that the State of Illinois may
pass acts which may embarrass the COM
pany in doing business there, and thus
discourage II and other enterprises which
would bring thrift 10 the State. In this
very connection the New York Herald OF
yesterday. referring TO Attorney-General
Moloneys proceedings against the tobacco
company. says:
'That there Is another side 10 this sort
OF thing is manifest from the fact that
negotiations which had almost been COM
plctcd by Chicago people for the sale OF
S5,0o0GO Of bonds in this city have fallen
through because investors do not dare 10
risk their funds within the reach OF such
officials as Governor Alleged and Attor-
ney-Ccneral Moloney."