Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-05-11
GOVERNMENT FILES SUIT IN IN
DIANA COURT AGAINST AL
LEGGED COMBINE.
COLLATION. OF SHERMAN LAW CHARGED
INJUNCTION ASKED TO PREVENT
DEFENDANTS FROM ACTING
IN CONCERT.

Washington, May 10.-The attorney
General has made public the following
statement:
THE government has filed in the
circuit court of the United States for
tho district Of Indiana a petition for
Id 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 to
the consumer through the retail drug
gists in violation of the Sherman anti
trust law.
THE parties 10 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
these associations, their officers, dele
gates and members are all engaged in
a common undertaking, to wit; the
business Of manufacturing, buying and
selling patent medicines and drugs and
proprietary articles throughout the
United States. That these associa-
1ions and the members thereof hays
entered into a conspiracy TO arbitrarily
fix and regulate the price at which
such articles shall be sold to the cor
bun and that they have established
rules and regulations TO enforce such
an unlawful agreement by restricting
the purchase and sale OF such com
modities TO those members of the sew
eral associations who shall. live UP to
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-
sumner the various commodities manu-
featured by the several members of
the proprietary association. The plan
by which such object is effected is in
brief as follows: No retail druggist
can obtain goods from a wholesale
druggist or a manufacturer of a pro-
prietary 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.
IF such retail druggist, after becom-
Ing a member of the National Associa-
ton Of Retail Druggists, cuts prices in
the sale OF such articles to the CON
sumner he Is Immediately placed upon
the list Of what Is known as 'aggres-
siye cutters and thereafter such retail
druggist is unable to obtain from any
manufacturer who is a member of the
proprietary association or from any
other wholesale druggist who Is a
member OF the Wholesale Druggists
association any of the commodities
which ma be manufactured and sold
by them or any Of them.
An 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