Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1905-01-02
PAPER TRUST NOW
u. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL MOODY
tiAkeS NEW MOVE.
Petition to cnjoin The General pa.
per Company and Constituent
Companies from Doing Busi.
ness In Violation of Antitrust
Laws,

st. Paul, Mimi, Dec. &c. Attorney
General Moody, for the United States,
through District Attorney Haupt and
Frank B. Kellogg and James NJ. Beck,
special assistant attorney general Of
the United States, has filed petition
in the United States districrt court in
which he makes the General Paper
Company principal defendant and it,
numerous constituent companies part
defendants in a suit to enjoin them and
restrain them from doing business
through the General Paper Company
as sales agent, in violation of the pro.
visions Of sections and 2 Of the act OF
congress approved July 9, entitled an
AN act to protect trade and commerce
against unlawful restraints and monop.
olies.'
Combine Is Alleged.
The petition alleges that the defen-
dante entered into an agreement to
combine and control the sale Of the
product of the different companies
through the General Paper Company
in that the General Paper Company
regulated the prices, sales and chip
ments and territory for the sale Of the
same, and deducting operating ex-
penses Of the General Paper Company
divided the surplus among the corpora
items.
The petition recites that the General
Paper Company was organized under
the laws Of Wisconsin May 26, 1900,
with capital stock of 100000 di-
vided into 1000 shares, which were
distributed among and are now held
by certain of the defendants named
and that later others were taken into
the combine.
One Selling Agent.
All are named in the order in which
they entered the trust, and the petition
goes on to state that the General Paper
Company became the exclusive selling
agency for the defendants, with abso-
Lutte power to control the output Of the
various mills, fix the price of all pa
per sold and to whom and upon what
terms and conditions the paper should
be sold; and into what states and
places it shall be shipped and what
publishers and other customers each
mill shall supply.
The petition alleges that in conse-
4quence of the combination all compe-
tition in the manufacture, sale and
distribution Of paper has been restrict
ed and the price of all paper products
greatly increased, particularly that of
news print paper, which has been in
creased so per cent.
Buyers Have No Option.
1t is further stated in the petition
that no dealers or newspapers or other
consumers in the Middle West, with
the exception of certain newspapers
published IN St. Louis and Chicago,
can purchase any paper directly thro'
the General Paper Company and then
only ON terms dictated by the latter.
The court has been asked to declare
the combination unlawful and that
the defendants be perpetually enjoined
from doing any act in pursuance of
the same; that the General Paper Com
pany be enjoined from acting as sales
agent for the other defendants, and
that the latter be snjoined from con.
tinuing their arrangement with the
General Paper Company. The court
is asked to direct the defendants to
appear in court and answer all ques.
tions relating to the allegations of the
petition that may be necessary.