The San Francisco call., 1906-05-10
United States Attorney
General Files Suit
for Injunction.
Alleges Trust Controls
Prices in Defiance OF
Federal Laws.
Officials OF the Combine
Are Made Individual
Defendants.

NAO1lA-N6 O-N, Mdy 81 ne Al
torney General today made public the
following statement:
The Government has today filed in
the Circuit Court Of the United States
for the district Of Indiana a petition
for an Injunction against certain as
sociations, corporations and indiyidu-
ais, comprising what is commonly
known as the drug trust of the United
States The parties defendant spe-
ctfcally named in the bill have vol
UNFAIRLY combined together to control
the prices at which proprietary medi-
cines and drugs shall be sold to the
consumer through the retail druggists
In violation of the Sherman antitrust
law.
The parties to the combination in
clude the Proprietary Association OF
America. the National Wholesale
Druggists Association and the Ma
tional Association OF Retail Drug
gists."
Continuing, the statement says:
The Proprietary Association OF
America is an unincorporated asso-
citation OF 80 per cent of all the manu-
facturers and proprietaries of patent
medicines, drugs and proprietary ar
ticles in the United States.
The National Wholesale Druggists
Association is also an unincorporated
association composed OF nearly all the
wholesale druggists in the United
States. These wholesale druggists
act as the distributing agents for the
manufacturers and pr'oprietaries OF
patent medicines, chemicals, drugs
and proprietary articles, purchasing
the same direct from the manufaetur-
ers, and supplying the same TO the re-
tail druggists in various parts Of the
country.
The National Association of Retail
Druggists is also an unincorporated
association composed of delegates
from affiliated associations of retail
druggists located in the various States
of the United States, and it is claimed
that this association, through its af-
filiations, has membership of about
10000, or nearly all the retail drug
gists IN the United States who pur-
chase and sell patent medicines, chem
icals, drugs and proprietary articles to
the consumer.
Each OF these three associations
has officers who are charged with the
transaction of the business of the re-
spective associations. These officers
are made party defendant to the suit,
as well as certain other individuals,
firms or corporations who are mem
bers Of the respective associations.
The bill charges in substance that
these associations, their officers, dele
gates and members are all engaged
In common undertaking, to-wit: The
business Of manufacturing, buying and
selling patent medicines and drugs
and proprietary articles throughout
the United States. That these asso-
Citations and the members thereof
have entered into a conspiracy to ar
bitrarily fix and regulate the price
at which such articles shall be sold
to the consumer and that they have
established rules and regulations to
enforce such an unlawful agreement
by restricting the purchase and sale
Of such commodities to those members
OF the several associations who shall
live up to and observe the rules and
regulations thus arbitrarily prescribed
bY~the respective associations.
There is but one ultimate object
Of the conspiracy, viz: To fix the price
which shall be observed by all retail
druggists in selling to the consumer
the various commodities manufactured
by the several members of the pro-
prietary association. The plan by
which such object Is effected is In
brief as follows:
mo retail druggist can obtain goods
from a wholesale druggist or a manu-
facturer OF q proprietary medicine un-
less such retail druggist becomes a
member of the National Association
OF Retail Druggists. and In order to
become such member he must agree
to observe the established price at
which such proprietary medicines
shall be sold TO the consumer
An Injunction is prayed for prohib-
iting these associations from acting
in concert for the purpose of main
tanning prices and the individuals,
firms and corporations who are mem
bers OF the respective associations
from acting together-for the purpose
of maintaining uniform prices to the
consumer throughout the United
States.