The Jersey City news., 1906-07-02


state laws to hopple them. but the most
recent cases in Missouri and Ohio are so
drastic as 10 be of more than usual inn
portanee says the Brooklyn Eagle"
The Missouri antitrust law contains
quite the most remarkable clause in the
history of trust batting. 1t reads:
ANY purchaser of any article or COM
modify from any individual, company or
corporation transtaeting business con-
! trary to any provision of the preceding
sections of this articles shall not be LA
bic for the price or payment of such ar
ticIe or commodity, and may plead this
article as defense to any suit for such
price or payment.
| OF course, the adoption or enforce
ment of that policy through the country
would destroy commercial credit and in
troduce something closely approaching
business anarchy. Perhaps for that rea-
son it has not been invoked in Missouri
until the present fight of the plumbers
supply trust to freeze out all the plumb
| ers in st. Louis who do not belong to
| the Plumbers Association. The, Cahill-
! Swift Company, a member of this COM
bination. had been dealing with plumb
| er named Walsh, and Walsh had paid
! his bills But Walsh did not belong to
| the Plumbers Association and that body
/ shut down on his getting any more goods
| from the members of the supply combi-
nation unless he would join the associa-
ton. When that ultmatum was pro-
nounced Walsh owed the Cahill-Swift
Company $240. He refused TO pay and
when the company sued, he proved in
court that it was a member OF an Or
ganization in restraint of trade and
| claimed that debts to such creditor need
not be paid under the state law. Judge
Ryan sustained that view and threw
the suit out of court. That is, in Mis-
souri,. if your creditor belongs to trust,
you can refuse to pay your debt, just as
you can refuse to pay a gambling debt,
The trusts. like the gamblers, are denied
the benefit of commercial credit and can
only safely sell those goods for which
the customer offers spot cash.
| The Ohio case is not so far reaching
| in its effect. although by it five promi-
nent business men of Toledo were SEN
fenced to Jail. They were members of
the local ice trust. One of them was
| convicted of combining to raise prices
and the others pleaded guilty. The
Judge inflicted the extreme penalty OF the
state law, 5000 fine for each and one
year in the workhouse. The judge, how
ever. intimated that if the prisoners
should restore the money they had feec-
| ed from the consumers by their artificial
prices. and should restore ice to the price
! at which it was sold before the combina-
ton was. made. he might remit the inn
prisonment part of the sentence. 1t
those Toledo business men do not wear
stripes for the next year. it will be upon
those terms. As a $4,000 fine must
use M most of the normal profits of the
| ice business in a city of that size Tor a
season, and as the Illicit or trust profits
must be returned to customers under the
judges offer. the case is likely to be a
warning that the Valentine law in Ohio
. is not to be triaed with. The case is
important because other prosecutions
against other trusts are pending in other
! Ohio counties. There has been talk of
prosecuting the Standard Oil at Findiay
and elaborate preparations have been
made, but no indictments have been
found there as yet
The Government is to prosecute officers
re tha standard Oil Company crirninally