Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1906-05-17
AFTER DRUG TRUST
GOVERNMENT FILES SUIT IN IN.
DIANA COURT AGAINST AL
LEGGED COMBINE.
Charged That the Sherman Antitrust
Law Has Been Violated by the Pro.
prietary Association of America, the
National Wholesale Druggists Asso-
of Retail Druggists.

of Retail Druggists.
Washington, May 9.-The attorney
general has made public the following
statement:
The government has filed in the
circuit court of the United States for
the district of Indiana a petition for
an Injunction against certain ~associa-
tons, corporations and individuals
comprising what is commonly known
as the drug trust. The parties defend
ant specifically named in the bill have
voluntarily combined together to con
troll the prices at which proprietary
medicines and drugs shall be sold tc
the consumer through the retail drug
gists in violation of the Sherman anti
trust law.
The parties to the combination in
clude the Proprietary Association of
America, the National Wholesale Drug
gists association and the National
Association of Retail Druggists"
The bill charges in substance that
tleae associations, their officers. dele
Sa1es and members are all engaged in
a common undertaking, to Wit: the
business OF manufacturing. buying aaJ
selling patent medicines and drugs AMI
proprietary articles throughout the
United States. That these associa-
tons and the members thereof hay,
entered into a conspiracy to arbitrarily
In and regulate the price at which
such articles shall be sold 10 the cor
sulner and that they nave established
rules and regulations TO enforce such
al unlawful agreement by restricting
the purchase and sale of such com.
moditics TO those members of the sel.
eral associations who shall. live uD 10
and observe the rules and regulations
thus arbitrarily prescribed by the re-
spective associations.
Object Of the Conspiracy.
There is but one ultimate object
of the conspiracy, namely: To fix the
price which shall be observed by all
retail druggists in selling to the con-
sumer the various commodities manu-
factured by the several members of
the proprietary association. The plan
by which such object is effected is in
Drle1 as follows: No retail druggist
can obtain goods from a wholesale
druggist or a manufacturer of a pro-
prletary medicine unless such retail
Druggist becomes a member OF the
National Association of Retail Drug
gists and in order to become such
member he must agree to observe the
established price at which such pro-
'prietary medicine shall be sold to the
consumer.
III such retail druggist, after beconl.
ing a member Of the National Associa-
lion OF Retail Druggists, cuts prices liz
the sale Of such articles to the con
sumef be is Immediately placed upon
the list Of what is known as 'aggres-
sive cutters and thereafter such retail
druggist is unalle to obtain from any
manufacturer who is a member of the
proprietary association or from any
other wholesale druggist who is q
member of the Wholesale Druggists
association any of the commodities
which may be manufactured and sold
by them or any OF them.
can injunction is prayed for prohib-
iting these associations from acting in
concert for the purpose Of maintaining
prices and the individuals, firms and
corporations who are members of the
respective associations from acting to-
gether for the purpose of maintaining
uniform prices to the consumers
throughout the United States"