The Savannah morning news., 1902-07-22
NO NOTICE OF THE SUIT.
Central Railway Not ofRciaIIy Ad-
Vised of Case against 1t sfOr Pool

Central Railway Not Officially Adj
Nised of Case against 1t flor Pool
ing.
Neither the president nor the attor-
neys of the Central of Georgia Railway
Company have yet received notice of
the suit instituted against the COM
pany, the Seaboard Air Line, the
Louisville and Nashville, the Atlantic
Coast Line and the Southern Railway
by ]. w Inman and ]. F. MCGOWAN
for S175.O0 damages through alleged
pooling and consequent delays to cot
ton shipments. Because of an aver
sion to discussing the case before it is
tried in the court, the attorneys for the
Central would not discuss it yesterday.
This is the first suit of the kind to
be filed in Georgia claiming damages
under the Sherman act. The suit is
based on damages alleged to have been
sustained on account of the illegal
handling of cotton between Athens and
Augusta.
The petition prays S5S, 900 actual dam
ages under the Sherman act, which
gives the further right to recover three
fold the amount of actual damages, to-
gether with rea sonable attorneys fees.
The Sherman act is designed to protect
trade and commerce against unlawful
restraints and monopolies, and partic-
ularly to prevent the existence and
maintenance of unlawful combinations
and agreements between common car
riers, in the form of trusts or other
wise. il being the same as under
which the Federal grand jury has OF
late taken the railroads to task for
pooling contracts covering the ham
ding of cotton.
The Allegations.
Briefly stated. the petition alleges
that certain cotton was purchased by
Inman & Co. in Athens, and was
shipped through Augusta to Europe
and to various domestic points on
through bills of lading, issued by the
lessees of the Georgia road, with the
privilege of holding the cotton at Au-
gusta for inspection, sampling and
compression; that the defendant roads
instead of forwarding the cotton d.
rectly to Augusta, did divide it among
them in accordance with a previously
made agreement, and did forward it
by various routes, in consequence of
which the cotton arrived in Augusta
from one to twenty days late and
thereby caused the firm loss of $685.
600.
In detail the petition alleges that an
Nov. l, 1898, and on various dates
subsequent up to April l, 1900, Inman
& Co. delivered to the Louisville and
Nashville and the Atlantic Coast Linz,
lessees of the Georgia road between
Athens and Augusta, 1908 bales of
cotton, for which through bills of lad
ing We're issued, with the usual per-
mission to hold the cotton at Augusta.
The Handling of 10000 Bales.
1t is alleged that instead of the
Louisville and Nashville and the Coast
Line, lessees of the Georgia, hauling
the 10000 bales of cotton as they
agreed to do by their bills of lading,
they turned it all over to the Southern,
the Central and the Seaboard in order
to comply with a pooling agreement
so called, which it is alleged was for
hidden and declared to be a crime by
the Sherman antitrust act. The con-
ditions of the alleged unlawful agree
ment are declared to be as follows:
The Central was to carry out of
Athens all cotton brought by it into
Athens, and also rs percent. of all cot
ton carried into the city by other
means of transportation than the rail
roads; the Atlantic Coast Line and the
Louisville and Nashville, as lessees of
the Georgia, to carry out 33 1-3 per
cent of the remainder, the Southern
33 Is per cent. and the seaboard SO 1-3
per cent.
Il Conspiracy Alleged.
tits alleged that this agreement
among the railroads was an unlawful
contract, combination and conspiracy,
in restraint of interstate commerce,
and as such was a violation of the
Sherman act.
1t declares that the railroads main
tanned at Athens a person known as Il
joint agent, who was required to see to
it that all cotton shipped from Athens
should be so divided, despite the fact
that the defendant companies knew
that the conditions controlling the
business of buying and selling cotton
required prompt service on the part of
the carriers. 1t is further alleged that
every bale of the 1908 bales arrived
in Augusta from one to twenty days
late, causing to the firm a loss in
profits, good will and expense of $751;
After Freight Association.
AS a special allegation of the petit
ton, it is declared that the sole rea-
son for the existence of the South
eastern Freight Association, maintain
ed by these and other railroads
throughout South Carolina, Alabama
and Georgia, is to encourage the MAX
ing of contracts between the roads
where they meet in competition SINH
lar to the Athens agreement, whereby
all rivalry between them is forbidden
and each road is forced to make the
same charges between given points
and also to see to it that all cotton
shipped from Athens and from all 9TH
er points in the associations <erritory
shall be divided on some basis similar
to that alleged to be maintained at
Athens.