Birmingham state herald., 1897-06-16
THE ORIGINAL JURY HOLDS And the Trial of the American
 Tobacco Company IS NOW PROCEEDING District Attorney 0lcott Reads the Indictment and Shows the Handwork of the
 Cigarette Trust

New York, June 15.-Judge Fitzgerald today decided that the trial of the Ameri- can Tobacco companys officers should proceed with the jury originally selected. 0. J. Bryon, against whom certain pro- eeedings of indiscretion were made. re- mains a juror. Judge Fitzgerald, when the proceedings began, denied the dis Hrict attorneys motion to have MT. Bryon removed. He also denied a motion made by Lawyer Chea'te to have Juror Fish examined in regard to his interview with Reporter Piper. Mir. Choate then said that he would demand to have the atten- tion of the grand jury called to Reporter Piper and the editor and publisher of the Morning Journal and Advertiser for nav ing engaged in a oaspiracy to influence Hhe acdJon of justice against the defense.
 District Attorney Olcott then opened the case fer the prosecution. He told or the workings of the company. He said:
 ''Prior to Get F, 1889, there were five great cigarette making concerns, Allen & Glnter, Duke & Co.,, Kinney Manufactur, ing company, w. s. Kimball & Co.,, and Glodw',n & Co. These five concerns came
 Mir. Olcott claimed that Allen & Ginter and Duke & Sons took 30 per cent; Kin ney 25 per cent, and kimball & Co. anu Gol1win each 20 per cent.
 "The American Tobacco company Was Incorporated Jan. 2, 1889, in the state of New Jersey. No crime was committed by that incorporation, but l will try to show you that methods and actions under that incorporation were crimes. These five concerns maintained their separate establishments and cont nued to make and sell their individual brands, but when a bill of goods was scld, say from Allen & Gihter for instance, that bill was made out from Allen & Ginter. branch of the American Tobacco company.
 ''This is most significant. It shows that this corporation was not formed to con- duct cigarette business as an ordinary corporation, company CT Individuals, but a corpora tion of corporations, not to start a cigarette business. but simply from their aggrandized power to stop, yes, to stifie competition.
 "They controlled trade by saying that a discount of certain percentage would be made to jobbers who bought of the branches. Any jobbers who handles cigarettes in satisfactory manner
 satisfactory to whom? Satisfactory to the manufacturers. Men with money, credit and business reputation could not buy the goods of the American Tobacco company unless they handled their goods in manner satisfactory % the com-
 
 must be sold at any price fixed by the company No matter what the situation may be, no matter how much he may need money or how much he may wish to clear out shop worn stock by disposing of goods at a price lower than the cost, he cannot do it. These people control 90 per cent of the cigarette trade of this country. This means that nine out of ten cigarette smokers want the cigarettes made by the American Tobacco company and unless iobbers handle these goods they can sell only to one out of ten cus- toners and they cannot handle the Amer ican Tobacco company's goods except at their terms.'
 MT. Olcot then took up the provision of the agreement. One was that the sell ing p-ice should be such as the tobacco company fixed Agents, he said, were obliged to guarantee sales. Agents do not do this. All cigarettes were to re- main the property. of the company. The company paid the entire freight charges. Agents had to guarantee agaanst losses by fire. This was another unusual oc- currence Agents had to pay all cnarges' taxes and licenses.
 .nThere is no use having statutory laws if such trickery was to go unpunished, said Mr. Olcott. This was the system by which the American Tobacco company disposed of its goods from Ma1cn l, iSSz, up to the time of it's indictment. The company was not indicted by striving to overcome competition by fair means, not for holding it's grasp on 90 per cent. or the cigarette smokers, but because 1t used its power on unwilling jobbers to pre- vent them selling other cigarettes.
 Joseph Park. of the grocery hrm or Park & Tilford, was the first witness. The gist of his testimony, as brought out by. diraois and cross-examinatlon, was that Park & Tilford had an agreemSnt with fhe American Tobacco company. and Under it his firm was able to make very large profit It was stipualted that no sd her cigarette was to be handled by lhs firm. but the Na,t;cnal Cigarette and To- ibacco company came on the market and Park & Tilford bought 25,000 cigarettes from them. Then Mr Butlsr, presuma- bly, representing .he American Tobacco company, laid down an ultimatum and Park & Tifar1 were compe'lsd-to gve up the other cigarettes, returning them to the National company. The agreement with the American Tobacco company was in writing, and is at present In the safe of Park l& Tilford. Undea h. agreement Mir. Park said his firm received a large amount of stock on consignment. MT. Park said the agreement had b. en made voluntary and the firm expected tolive up to it.
 During he cIoss-exa mination of MT. Park, Mir Cheat declared that only busi- mesa principles had be n employed in the transaction of the business of his eli ents. They used the same principles as are employed by business houses the world over.
 No further wit1egses were called be- fore adjourn'm mt was taken until tomor- row.
 O'FARRELL FEN ROUTE.
 Richmond Va JlIne r15-Cov O'Ear-