Washington sentinel., 1899-10-28
A New BLOW at Trusts.

Court of Illinois last week. Ii
briei, the decision forbids the trans
Ter of the American Glucose Com
pany's plant at Peoria to the Glu
cose Sugar Refining Company. one
OF the most conspicuous and sue
cessful OF the modern industrial
combinations popularity known a;
trusts"
The American Glucose Com
pa Us plant is very large and
expensive one, and was sold to the
Glucose Sugar Refining Company
for oyer S2, 900, 900. The trust has
a capital Of $40, 900, 900 and was
incorporated August 3, 1897, at
Trenton, N. J. 1t bought up six
concerns, including the American
Glucose Company's plant, which
is the largest of all. The Chicago
Real Estate and Trust Company,
which owned Sa5o, 900 OF the stock
in the Peoria plant, brought suit to
prevent its transfer to tine trust and
the Supreme Court has just de-
clded in favor Of the petitioners.
The court decided that under
the Illinois law the trust was an
illegal combination and the parties
Who organized it were guilty Of a
conspiracy to defraud. The coun-
sci for the trust claimed that a
stockholder had no right to COM
plain Of the sale Of factory be
cause a monopoly was to be cre-
ated it he got his share ofthe price.
The court ruled as TO this that the
stockholders did have a right to
retain their investments as they
saw fit. he court also maintained
that it had Jurisdiction over New
Jersey corporation which came
into the State Of Illinois. Finally,
the court dealt with the character
OF the contract under which the
Peoria company sold out, saying.
The evidence shows that the manu-
tacture OF glucose and grape sugar and
their products rs Conhued to a certain
corn belt, where corn is raised and that
this district is embraced within the terri
tory specified within the contract Of
August II, 1897; that is TO say, within a
radius OF 1900 miles of Chicago.
AS the evidence in the records tends
20 show that glucose can only be manu-
faCtured successfully within this radius,
the agreement not to manufacture and
sell il therein amounted in effect to an
agreement in total or general restraint
OF trade; hence the agreement was void
and stamps the transaction of which 1t
was part as illegal.
The point OF this decision is that
in the Safe of Illinois at least no
corporation can buy out corporate
assets in restraint Of trade. Here
tofore it has been held that any
person or a corporation, which is
an artificial person, can buy all the
corporate assets for which he or it
can pay. This is in the line oil
other States, notably New Jersey.
The Illinois decision, so far as we
are informed, is the first to the
contrary. Ifit should be sustained,
it would mean that no trusts could
operate in the State of Illinois. It's
significance is very great, for it
strikes at the root oil the modern
trust, which is nothing but a gi-
gantic corporation, organized to
buy up other corporations in the
same line OF business. The Amer
lean Sugar Company, the Conti-
mental and American Tobacco
Company, the Federal Steel, and
all the other big trusts have been
formed in this manner, and a blow
at one is thus blow at all. The
attorney for the Glucose Sugar
Company SAYS that the litigation
is just in its infancy.
The common stock OF the Glu-
cose trust, which has been recelV-
ing 4 per cent. dividends and has
been we'll supported in the New
York and Chicago stock markets,
closed at 4S last Saturday, a de-
cline Of II to 40 points from the
high figures of last spring and Of 8
to 10 points since news Of the de-
cision came out.
The decision is one of the many
danger signals to trusts which are
now flying on the commercial and
financial hilltops. They are threat
ened in every direction, and already
have been largely deserted, at least
temporarily, by the spectators,
the class Tor whom they were or.
ganized. Soon they may no longer
bsa menace.