The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-31

| CHI .lCES GROCfRS
WITH CONSPIRACY
Company Asks Court for In
junction Restraining Retail
and State Associations.

Conspiracy is charged against the
Retail Grocers' association, of st. Paul,
and the Retail Grocers and General
Merchants Association of Minnesota,
and the officers and members of those
organizations in their efforts to break
up the trading stamp business In this
city.
Application was made to the district
court yesterday for an injunction
against the two grocers associations
to restrain them from further action
to cripple and destroy the business of
Sperry & Hutchinson company, pro-
prietors of a trading stamp enterprise.
The complaint says that conspiracy
has been entered into by the defend
ants to injure, cripple and destroy the
business of the complainant and that
to that end agents and employees of
the defendants have solicited a number
of persons to break their contracts
with the complainant.
The court is petitioned to enjoin the
defendants from interfering with the
customers of the Sperry & Hutchinson
company or from further trying to per-
suade those customers to break their
contracts.
Claim Ordinance Would Be Void.
The ordinance now pending before
the city council to prohibit trading
stamp business is referred to in the
complaint, and it is asserted that the
complainant has been informed by le-
gal counsel and believes the defendants
have also been advised that if such
an ordinance were passed it would not
be upheld by the courts as legal. The
further assertion is made that the
complainant believes the defendants
are not acting in good faith in advo-
eating the adoption of the ordinance,
but are merely using the ordinance as
a club to induce customers of the trad
ing stamp company to break their con-
tracts.
The complaint is accompanied by af-
fidavitS, principal of which are those
of w. R. Conner, st. Paul manager,
and A. ]. Dillman, district manager
for the Sperry & Hutchinson company
Mr.. Conner in his statement asserts
that the Sperry & Hutchinson company
on Dec. q last succeeded to the bust
ness of the Union Trading Stamp COM
pany, for which he was also st. Paul
manager, and assumed it's contracts, a
number of which were with local gro
Gerry firms. He says that for many
months past the defendant organiza
lions have by their officers, solicited
grocers to break their contracts with
the Sperry & Hutchinson company and
six retail grocery firms have done so.
Would Drive 1t Out of Town.
He says that a meeting of the as
sembly on March II, Andrew j. Ries.
president of the Retail Grocers' asso-
citation, stated that it was the desire
and intention of the organization to
drive the trading stamp business out
of town."
Mr.. Connor says in his affidavit that
Mr.. Ries and J. J. Ryan, who is secre-
tary of the Retail Grocers' association,
have both stated to grocers that if
they would break their contracts the
association would protect them and
furnish legal counsel.
Another affidavit is from Andrew
Schoch, who states that he was openly
solicited by Messrs. Ries and Ryan to
break his contract with the Sperry &
Hutchinson company and was told that
the Retail Grocers' association wanted
to drive the trading stamp business
out of town. He says he was asked
to discontinue the use of trading
stamps. as he was the only large gro
Ger still giving them out, and was
told that if some of the smaller deal
ers refused to discontinue the associa-
ton would ask the wholesale dealers
to refuse to sell them goods.
John Beulke, a grocer makes affi-
davit that Mr.. Ries solicited him in
February, 1904, to break his trading
stamp contract. Other affidavits are
to the same effect.