The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1894-06-12
; LAW ON TRUSTS

Louo"lng, 1g part or Judge Whita-
ker's char 20 the Grand Jury at a
recent term of the Superior Court held
in that city:
The legislature of North Carolina in
the year 1889 declared:
SECTION 1. That all combinations and
trusts as defined by this act are unlaw.
full, dangerous to the liberty of the peo.
pie, and are hereby forbidden to be
formed or carried on this State.
SEQ 2. That a trust is an arrange
ment, understanding or agreement,
either private or public, entered into
by two or more persons or corporations
for the purpose of increasing or re
ducing the price of the shares of stock
of any company or corporation, or of
any class of products, materials or
manufactured articles, beyond the
price that would be fixed by the natural
demand for or the supply ofsuch shares,
products, materials or manufactured
articles, any attempt to carry out such
purpose shall be evidence that such ar
rangement, understanding or agree
ment exists.
SEC 3. That any persons, company
or corporation who shall form, or at
tempt to form trust i'm this State, or
the agent or representative of any
trust in any State or county who shall
attempt to carry on operations in this
State shall be guilty of a misdemeanor,
and upon conviction may be fined not
more than ten thousand dollars or may
be imprisoned not more than ten years
for each offence.
SEC. 4. That any person, company
or corporation who enter into an ar
rangement, understanding or agree
ment not to mine, manufacture, buy,
sell or transport more than a certain
specified amount Of any goods, prod
ucts or commodities within a specified
time, will have violated section three
of this act and will be liable to indict-
ment therefor, any person, company
or corporation who give bond or make
forfeit of any kind not to break such
arrangement, understanding or agree
ment shall be guilty of misdemeanor,
and on conviction thereaf shall be fined
or imprisoned, or both, in the discre-
tion of the court.
| SEC. 5. That any merchant, broker,
manufacturer or dealers in raw mate,
rials of any kind, or the agent of such
persons, who shall sell any particular
class of goods, raw materials or manu-
factured articles for less than actual
cost, for the purpose of breaking down
competitors, shall be guilty of misde,
meanor, and upon conviction shall be
fined or imprisoned or both, in the dis
cretion of the court. Provided, that
nothing contained in this act shall
operate or be construed so as to forbid
or prevent any person or persons who
desire and intend to purchase any ar
ticle or commodity for his or their own
use or consumption, from combining
or otherwise lawfully acting so as to
protect or help themselves from impo-
sition in the cost or purchase price of
such articles or commodities as they,
or either of them, may design and in
tend to use or consume.
The nature of man requires that he
should have food to preserve, and cloth
ing to make comfortable his body and
protect it from the inclemency Cf the
weather, as we'll as other things which
he must, or will have, such as whiskey
and tobacco, to add to his comfort and
pleasure. To supply this demand the
farmer makes cotton, corn and tobac-
co. The cotton is made into cloth by
the spinner and weaver, the corn into
whiskey by the distiller and the to-
bac.o is prepared for use by the to-
bacco manufacturer. If all the grow
ers of cotton, corn Or tobacco could
combine, they might regulate the prices
of their products by Withholding them
from the market except at certain
agreed prices, or by producing only
agreed quantities of each; but this Is
impracticabIe, even impossible, be
cause being so many in number and SO
widely separated they cannot get to-
gether or agree on anything, and be-
cause their immediate and urgent
necessities are such that what they
make they must sell at whatever they
can get without delay. To convert the
cotton into cloth, the corn into spirits
and prepare the tobacco for general use
REQUIRES large capital, and therefore
this is done by wealthy individuals, or
nv CORPORATIONS composed OF many