Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-03-07
GIGANTIC COM BIN E
DRUGGISTS OF COUNTRY AL.
LEGGED TO BE ORGANIZED IN
ILLEGAL TRADE, COMPACT.
National Association Of Retail Drug
gIsts Title of Association Which May
Be Attacked by Attorney General
Moody-How Association Works.

Chicago, March A. Existence Of a
gigantic combination controlling the
drug trade of the United States and
costing the consumers $4,000, 900 an
nually is held to have been proved by
the hearing just concluded before
Special United States Commissioner
Marshall T. Sampsell.
The evidence taken before Commits
sioner SamDsell is said to be so con-
elusive that it probably will be
placed in the hands of Attorney Cen
eral Moody for prosecution on the part
of the government.
The fight against the combination is
being made by G. G. A. Loder, the larg-
est retail druggist in Philadelphia,
who is suing for 100000 damages I'M
der the Sherman antitrust law.
Secretary Is Witness.
The chief witness has been Thomas
w. Wooten, secretary of the National
Association of Retail Druggists, the
examination being conducted by At
torney w. Wilson Garlic, Of Philadel-
phia.
Attorney Garlic, commenting on
the testimony given by Secretary
Wooten, said:
More than 10000 retail druggists
are members of the national associa-
ton and are acting in accord with the
scheme to raise and keep raised re-
tail prices of proprietary drugs and
medicines. Every wholesale drug
gist in the United States is a party to
the arrangement in some way, and
about 100 hundred Of the leading pro-
prietary firms and corporations also
are part of the combination. :
How the Scheme Works.
."The way the gigantic scheme to
control the prices of articles Is
worked is remarkable instance of
perfect organization, based upon boy
cotting principles. The National
Retail association has about twenty
paid men, called organizers, who are
stationed in the various sections Of the
country, and who report the names of
all druggists who sell below the price
fixed by the local retail association.
Each local association gives out,
periodically, a schedule of prices, and
every druggist must conform to this
schedule or his name is sent to Secre-
tary Wooten as an aggressive cutter
"Wooten then places the cutters
name on black list, which is sent out
at regular intervals to the wholesale
dealers throughout the United States,
and from that time forward, the cut
ter cannot purchase supplies of any
description for cash in any state Of the
union.
WtooIeeafar ic Dupiched
eff wholesaler continues to sup
ply a cutter whose name is on the
black list, this wholesaler becomes the
subject of complaint in the shape of
pink slip sent out by Wooten and the
retailers, and the result is the re-
tailers withdraw their patronage from
the offending wholesaler.
In addition to this Wooten sends
to the 100 proprietors, the name of the
wholesaler who sold the cutter and
thenceforth the proprietors decline to
sell goods to the wholesale dealer.
Thus a complete chain is formed.
Proprietors are Disciplined.
IF proprietor sees fit to sell his
manufactured products to persons not
satisfactory to the national retail as
ISOLATION, he likewise is in danger of
having his goods thrown ont by the
loyal wholesalers and retailers and
receives weekly criticisms in official
of tho drug trade