The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-06-02
TOBACCO TRUST AT THE BAR
New York Journal.)

L
New York against James b. Duke and
nine others is set down for trial in the
Court of General Sessions on the first
Monday in June. 1t is little more than
Il year since the grand jury found the
indictments against the officers and
agents "of a certain corporation called
the American Tobacco Company under
section 1853 of the Penal Code, and under
chapter 716 of the laws of 1893 as
amended by charter 267 of the laws of
1896. BY the passage of the anti-mono-
poly law of last session the statute I'M
der which the second of these indict-
ments was found was repealed, so that
the directors of the Tobacco Trust will
be tried under the indictment found in
pursuance of that section of the Penal
Code which declares it to be a INSIDE
meanor for two or more persons to con-
spire to commit an act injurious to trade
or commerce.
So far these indictments have been
found by all the weapons of legal evasion
and delay which the Trust could COM
mand. Their validity was upheld by
Judge Fitzgerald last January in a de-
cision which declared among other things
that "a trading corporation is entitled
to all the advantages it can secure under
fair and free competition, but its Of
ficers and agents may become criminally
liable if they confederate to secure a
monopoly by threats and menaces di-
rected against competitors to force and
coerce them TO relinquish the rights TO
the fullest enjoyment of which they are
entitled" The case now comes to trial
on its merits and if the District-A tor
ney succeeds in proving the charge of
conspiracy and in showing that the con-
tracts. arrangements and agreements en-
tered into in restraint of trade have been
actually carried out and executed in this
State, there seems nothing to prevent Il
conviction for nliSdemeanor. with its ac-
c0mpanying penalty of fine or imprison-
ment, or both. against the officers of the
trust
The case ought thus TO afford test
of the adequacy of the existing law of
this State to put an end to the whole
system of controlling trade by mono
polistic combination. In any other sense
however, the case cannot be regarded
as n test one. The principle has long
been established in New York that an
agreement for the purpose of controlling
the price and managing the sale of an
article of common use so as to prevent
competition is condemned by law. That
was clearly settled in the leading case
of the People against Sheldon, which
turned upon the formation of q Coal Elk
change in the city of Lockport, the object
of which was to prevent competition in
the price of coal among the retail deal
ers. by constituting the exchange the
sole authority to fix the prices which its
members should charge for coal. In de-
livering the unanimous opinion Of the
Court OF Appeals in this case, Chief JUS
tice Andrews held that although the OBJ
ject of the combination was merely the
protection of the parties to it against
undue or excessive prices, still the in
dictment was sustained by proof, because
every such combination is, in the con-
temptation of law, an act inimical to
trade or commerce. The court further
held that if agreements and combina-
tons to prevent competition in prices are
or may be hurtful to trade, the only sure
remedy is to prohibit all agreements of
that character.
The Lockport coal dealers were in
dicted and convicted under the same sec
ton of the Penal Code as is now invoked
against the directors Of the Tobacco
Trust. There does not seem to be any
reason to doubt that the principles that
governed the one case apply directly to
the other Nor is it possible to doubt
that if the methods employed by the
American Tobacco Company can be
shown to be criminal under the laws of
this State, those of the Sugar Trust will
not be better able to stand the test of
judicial examination. In short, if the
District-Attorney succeeds in procuring
a conviction in the trial which will open
next week, the doom Of the trust sys-
tenn in this State will be sealed