Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1906-06-08
ELEVATOR TRUST
Is KNOCKED OUT.
Victory for Government in Action
Brought Against Combine by U. S.
Attorney General

WASHINGTON, d. G, June AT
torney General Moody today being asked
concerning the significance of the action
OF the defendants i'll consenting to de-
cree III favor of the government in what
is known as the case against the Otis
Elevator company ct al, against which
the department recently instituted pro-
ceedinGs for violation of the federal anti
trust laws, said:
The circuit court of the United
states for the Northern district of Cali
Iornla yesterday entered q decree in the
case recently instituted by the govern
ment against the Otis Elevator company
and certain other corporations for viola
uon OF the federal antitrust laws. The
decree grants a perpetual injunction as
prayed for i'll the bill enjoining each and
all of the defendants from violating any
OF the provisions of the Sherman anti
trust act and particularly from con-
uactlnS or agreeing together in any
manner, either expressly or implicitly, az
70 the trade and commerce in elevators
In the United States. The defendant
corporations and their respective officers
and agents are also perpetually enjoined
from entering into any agreement or I'M
Outstanding as to the prices to be
charged for installing elevators or as to
the territory i'll which any or all of them
shall do business. By the terms of the
decree the court retains jurisdiction of
the suit to make any further or addi-
donal decree or to modify or enlarge the
present decree from time to time as the
equities of the case may demand. The
bill of complaint in this case was filed in
the circuit court on the It'll day of
March, 1906, against the following
named defendants:
The Otis Elevator company, Elcc-
trical Engineering company, Frazier
Electrical Elevator company, Cahill q
Hill Elevator company, A. j. McNicoll
Elevator company, Crane Elevator com
pany, Standard Elevator and Manufac-
turing company, Eaton & Prince Eleva-
tor company, SmithHill Elevator COM
pany, Whittier Machine company, Stokes
& Parish Elevator company, Morse, Will
liams &, Co, McAdams & Cartwright
Elevator company, Graves Elevator
company, Plunger Elevator company,
Sprague Elevator company, Bloomsbury
Elevator and Machine company, Sulzer-
yogt Machine company, Central Iron
Works company, Moon Elevator COM
pany, Warner Elevator company, J..
O'Dennell x Co, Gardner Elevator com
pany, Houghton Elevator company, Gel
ger, Fiske Il T<oop, National ELECTRICAL
Elevator company, Burdette n Kown-
tree Manufacturing company, Nome
Elevator company. Samuel Burger, W.
ID. Baldwin, c. c. Comstock. ID. IL
Darrin company, Elektron Manufacture
Ing company.
at was alleged in the bin that these
defendants made and sold at least SO per
cent. of all the elevators used west OF
the Rocky mountains and charged that
they had entered into q conspiracy
among themselves to control and en-
nance the prices at which such elevators
should be sold, and that the object of
such conspiracy had been effected by and
through the Otis Elevator company and
its officers. The bill also charged that
in order to still further destroy compe-
dtion with respect TO the sale of ele-
yators, whenever any independent COM
pany secured contract fictitious suits
were instituted against such company by
the Otis Elevator company for infringe
ment of its patents, but that such suits
were really and in fact instituted for the
purpose of harassing and injuring such
independent company. The decree
which has been entered affords the gov
eminent all the relief to which it is en-
titled under the law"