The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-12-11
1T is DEFIANT.
The Tobacco Trust Denies That the
Court Has Power.

New York, Dec. 10.-The American To.
bacco Company to-day denied the power
OF The New Jersey chancery court to re-
strain its operation. Counsellor Richard
V. Lindabury argued before Vice. Chan
cellor Reed, in the jersey City chancery
chambers, that the suit of John II. Miller
and Sons in the attorney generals name,
to restrain the American Tobacco Com
pany, SHOULD have been brought in n
court of law and not in the court of
equity.
Thos. NJ. McCarter completed his open-
ing argument for the complainant when
the hearing was resumed to day He
said that the trust had killed competition
iii the manufacture of cigarettes. Before
the combination the parties to it were
competitors. The competition tended to
the benefit of the dealers and the benefit
OF the consumers. The trade was regtt-
lated by the demands of the market.
The evidence taken in this case estab.
lishcd that by means of the certificates of
Incorporation, the combination had
acquired control over the cigarette trade
IN the United States that the trade in
cigarettes cannot he successfully con.
Quoted without the goods of the combina.
ton; that those who would not yield to
its power could not do BUSINESS, and i'm.
portant houses found themselves COM
PEELED to succumb to its influence and
power.
1t has already acquired for itself, he
argued complete monopoly of the
WHOLE trade, ut prices fixed by itself, and
which admit OF no deviation, and the
desperate struggle which the National
Cigarette and Tobacco Company has been
compelled to make...to getsthe least foot
hold in the market shows the extent of
It's bancful influence and power, and it
has completely destroyed Il large portion
OF the business of j. Il. Miller & Son for
no other cause than dealing with the
goods of IL rival concern. none Of which
could have been accomplished without
the use OF the franchise obtained by the
incorporation in New Jersey
1T is not to the credit of the State of
New jersey said the counsel, .that she
should become the foster mother of every
corporation which, driven out of every
State, mag come here to carry on its de
stroying business. Tie court ought not
To hesitate for Il moment to bring these
corporations under the rule of the law
Mr. -l.indabury, in his opening adj
dress, said if the opinions Of the ATTORNEY
general and of Governor Altgeld of Ili-
nois, favored the compainunts, the de-
PENDANTS had judicial decisions on their
side
1917 eNi uiiOuSib Ullc NclpnU OF
the decisions the other way. and said:
THE President of the United States
called attention to monopolies rs one of
crying evils of the day
Mr. Lindabury argued ut length against
the chancery courts jurisdiction. The
chancellor had ruled that the chancery
court could not look beyond regularity of
organization The compluinnnts asked
for perpetual injunction restraining
the company from exercising its fran
chise. 1t is stated that II court of chan
Gerry is entitled without jurisdiction to do
that. The remedy is by quo warranto.
The chancery court cannot determine the
validity of IL corporation regularly
formed.
He declared that the company now has,
ana always has had. an office in that
State; that the company has always done
AL that part of the business in the Stale
OF New Jersey that the law requires TO
be done there; that no part of the capital
stock was issued either fraudulently or
without consideration; that the evidence
failed to show that the American Tobacco
Company WAS organized for the purpose
of acquiring an illegal monopoly in the
manufacture or sale Of paper cigarettes.