Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-09
ACTION AGAINST
THE DRUG TRUST
Petition for Injunction Filed by
the Government.
THREE ASSOCIATIONS NAMED
Charged With Combining to Control
Prices.
AN ALLEGED CONSPIRACY
Restraint of Trade Shown in Recent
Suit Brought by Henry W. Loder
of Philadelphia.
AN ALLEGED CONSPIRACY

The Attorney 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 In
junction against certain associations, cor
porations and individuals. comprising what
IS commonly known the drug trust OF
the United States The parties defendant
specifically named in the bill have voluntar-
lily combined together to control the prices
at which proprietary medicines and drugs
shall be sold to the consumer through the
retail druggists IN violation of the Sherman
antitrust law.
The parties to the combination include
the Proprietary Association of America. the
National Wholesale Druggists Association
and the National Association of Retail
Druggists.
Three Associations Arraigned.
Continuing. the statement says:
The Proprietary Association of America
IS unincorporated association OF 90 per
cent OF all the manufacturers and pro-
prietaries of patent medicines, drugs and
proprietary articles in the United States.
The various members of this association
reside In and do business in the various
states and the products in which they deal
are manufactured in the several states of
the Union and sold and distributed from
the states in which they are manufactured
10 wholesale and retail druggists through
out the United States.
The National Wholesale Druggists AS
sociation Is also an unincorporated as
sociation. composed of nearly all the
wholesale druggists in the United States.
These Wholesale druggists act the dis
tributing agents for the manufacturers
and proprietares of patent medicines,
chemicals, drugs and proprietary articles.
purchasing the same direct from the
manufacturers and supplying the same to
the retail druggists in various parts of
the country
'"The National Association of Retail
Druggists is also unincorporated as
suciation, composed Of delegates from af-
ffliated local associations of retail drug
gists located in the various states of the
United States. and it is claimed that this
association, through Its affiliations, has a
membership of about 10000, or nearly all
The retail druggists in the United States
who purchase and sell patent medicines
chemicals drugs and proprietary articles
TO the consumer.
Each of these three associations have
officers who are charged with the trans
ection OF the business of the respective
associations. These officers are made par
ties defendant to the suit, as well as GER
tain other individuals. firms and corpora
tiuns who are members of the respective
associations.
In a Common Undertaking.
The bill charges in substance that these
associations, their officers, delegates and
members are all engaged In a common un-
dertaking to wit. the business of manu-
featuring. buying and selling patent medi-
Cines and drugs and proprietary articles
throughout the United States; that these
associations and the members thereof have
entered into a conspiracy to arbitrarily fix
and regulate the prices at which such ar
hal he sol rA hR pgpE Ellr
that they have established rules and regu-
lations to enforce such unlawful agree
ment by restricting the purchase and sale
OF such commodities to those members or
the several associations who shall live up
to and observe the rules and regula tions
thus arbitrarily prescribed by the respec-
tive 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 proprietary association The plan by
which such object is effected is in brief as
follows: No retail druggist can obtain goods
from wholesale druggist or a manufac-
turer Of a proprietary medicine unless 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
et which such proprietary medicines shall
be sold TO the consumer.
Disciplining the Druggists
If such retail druggist. after becoming a
member OF the National Association of Re
tail Druggists. cuts prices in the sale OF
such articles to the consumer, he is imme-
diately placed upon the list of what is
known rs aggressive 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 uf the commodities which may be man
ufact1red and sold by them or any Of
them.
Result of Loder Suit.
Henry W. Loder OF Philadelphia recent
y brought suit in the United States circuit
court for the eastern district Of Pennsyl-
vania. under section OF the Sherman anti
trust act. against these three associations.
The evidence produced upon the trial for
the purpose Of showing the existence of a
conspiracy established a case substantially
the same that charged In the govern
ments bill Judge Holland before whom
that case was tried. in his charge to the
jury. held that such evidence was sufficient
10 show a combination IN restraint of trade
within the meaning OF the first section OF
the federal antitrust act.
Suit Filed at Indianapolis.
INDIANAPOLIS. md. May a-Acting
under instructions from Attorney General
Moody Joseph B. Healing United States
district attorney today filed in the United
States court. before Judge A. b. Anderson
petition for an injunction against several
corporations and individuals comprising
what IS alleged 10 be drug trust
Southern Unitarian Conference.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. May 9.-The southern