The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-12-28
To BUST THE
PAPER TRUST.
Attorney General Moody Files a
Suit at st. Paul.
Petitions the Court to Declare
the Combine Unlawful.
INJUNCTION AS KE ID.
Wants Defendants Brouhgt Be-
fore the Bar to Answer.
Action Is Instituted on Com
plant of Publishers.

St Paul, Mimi, Dec. 2S.-Attorney
General Moody, for the United states.
through District Attorney Haupt and
Frank B. Kellogg and James NJ Beck,
special assistant attorney general or
the United States, has filed a petition
in the United States district court in
which he makes the General Paper
company as principal defendant ana
the Itasca Paper company, of Grand
Rapids. Mimi; Hennepin Paper com
pany, of Little Falls, Mimi; Wolf
River Paper and Fiber company, OF
New Richmond, Wis; Atlas Paper
company, of Appleton, Wis; Kimberly
& Clark company, of Neenah, Wis;
Riverside Fiber and Paper company,
of Appleton, Wis; Wausau Paper Mills
company, of Brokaw. Wis; Centralia
Pump and Water Power company, of
Centralia, Wis; Combined Locks Pa
per company, of Combined Locks,
Wis; Dells and Pulp company, of
Eau Claire, Wis; Grand Rapids Paper
and Pulp company, of Grand Rapids,
Wis; Menasha Paper company, of
Menasha. Wis; Nekoosa Paper COM
pany, of Nekoosas Wis; The Falls
Manufacturing company. of Oconto
Falls. Wis; Flambeau Paper company,
of Park Falls, Wis; John Edwards
wards, Wis; c. W. Howard company,
OF Menasha, Wis; Wolf River Paper
and Fiber company, of New Rich
mond, Wis; Wisconsin River Paper
company, of Plover, Wis; Tomahawk
Pulp and Paper company. of Park
Falls, Wis; Manufacturers Paper
company; the Petoskey Fiber Paper
company. of Petoskey. Mich, and the
Rhinelander Paper company, of
Rhinelander. Wis, party defendants in
a suit to enjoin them and restrain
them from doing business through the
General Paper company as the sales
agent, in violation of the provisions of
sections 1 and of the act of congress
approved July ,, entitled IAN act to
protect trade and commerce against
unlawful restraints and monopolies."
The petition alleges that the defend
ants entered into an agreement to COM
bine and control the sale of the prod
uct of the different companies through
General Paper company regulated
prices, sales and shipment and terri
tory for the sale of the same, and, after
oeductfng operating expenses of the
General Paper company. divided the
surplus among the members of the cor
poration-
The petition recites that the General
Paper company was organized under
the laws of Wisconsin, May 26, 1900
with capital stock of $4,000 divided
into 1000 shares, which were distribu-
TED among and are now held by certain
of the defendants named, and that la
ter the others were taken into the COM
bine. naming them in the order in
which they entered the trust, and goes
on to state that the General Paper
company became the exclusive selling
agent for the defendants, with absO-
lutte power to control the output of the
various mills. fix the price of all paper
sold and to whom and upon what terms
and conditions the paper should be
sold; and into what states and places
1t shall be shipped and what publishers
and other customers each mill shall
supply.
The petition alleges that. in conse-
quence of the combination, all competi-
ton in the manufacture, sale and diStri-
button of PAPER has been restricted and
the price of all paper products greatly
print paper, which has been increased
about 80 per cent. 1t further states
consumers in the territory west of the
Mississippi, with tie exception of certain
Chicago. can purchase any paper ex-
cept directly through the General Paper
company; and then only upon terms
The court is asked to declare the
alleged combination unlawful and that
the defendants be perpetually enjofned
from doing any act in pursuance of the
same.
That the General Paper company be
enjoined from acting as sales agent for
the other defendants and that the latter
be en1oined from continuing their ar
rangement with the General Paper COM
pany. The court is also asked to direct
answer all questions relating to allie
cations of the petition as may be nee
essary-
Moody Discusses 1t.
Washington, Dec. 2S.-Attorney General
Moody has given out the following OFFICIAL
statePTenit regarding the suit instituted at
against the paper manufacturing COM
''On the complaint OF many newspaper
publishers last spring that combination
In restraint of commerce existed among
manufacturers of paper to control the dis
tribution and sale of their products
among the states of the union, the depart
ment of justice began investigation of
that subject and to further aid the de-
partment in that respect the attorney
general appointed Frank b kellogg of
the st. Paul. Mimi, bar and James NJ
Beck of the New York bar, as special at
torneys to collect the ey-idence and make
a report thereon These gentlemen, after
an exhaustive examination of the matter
simultaneously with that conducted by
the department of justice, have reported
TO the attorney general that in their
opinion the facts ascertained support the
complain and justify in the public inter-
ests. the filing OF petition to enjoin the
operations of the General Paper company,
instrumentality through which the alleged
combination in control the prices and dis
ern states is conducted. In this opinion
the department of justice concurs The
be filed against the General Paper com
pany and the "a paper manufacturing
companies located IN the states of Min
nesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, which it
represents, to have such combination de-
clared to be an unlawful restraint upon
interstate commerce and MONOPOLY The
petition will be filed in the United States
circuit court for the district of Minneso-
Ia as soon as the necessary papers can
be prepared"
Naval Officers Visit on Shore.
Santiago de Chile. Dec. 2S.-Rear
Admiral Goodrich and the other of
ficers of the United States Pacific