The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-10
sUIT AGAINST DRU0 Trust.
The Government Higgins Action finder
tine AntisTruss Lew.

The Government Begins Action tfRde
tine AntisTrBss Lsw.
WASHINGTON, May s.-Attomey Genera
Moody to-day announced that the Govern
ment had fled In the United States Circuit
Court for the District OF Indiana q petition
for an injunction against certain associa.
tons. corporations and individuals com.
posing what Ia commonly known as the
drug trust OF The United States.
The parties defendant specifically named
In the bill have apparently combined b
control the prices at which proprietary
medicines and drugs shal n be- sold IN CON-
sumers through the retail druggists, in vio-
lation Of The Sherman Antitrust act.
The parties to the combination include
among others the Proprietary Association
Of America, the National Wholesale Drug
gists' Association and the National Assooia-
tioE Of Retail Druggists, none Of them
incorporated.
The Acknowledgement to-day made public
a statement in which he says:
Each of these three associations has
officers who are charged with the trans
action OF the business Of tho respective
associations. These officers are made
parties defendant to the suit, as we'll as GER
tain other individuals, firms and corpora
tons who are members Of the respective
: aesocia tons.
~The bill charges in substance that these
associations. their officers, delegates and
members are all engaged in a common
undertaking, to wit, the business of manu-
featuring, buying and selling patent medi-
ones and drugs and proprietary articles
associations and the members thereof rave
entered into a conspiracy to arbitrarily fix
and regulate the price at which such articles
shall. be sold to the consumer and that they
AVE 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 sell
ing to the consumer the various commodi-
ties 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 fro n a wholesale druggist or a man
f~acturer of a proprietary medicine unless
such retail druggist becomes a member Of
the National Association of Retail Drug
gists, and in order to become such member
ic Hl''~ dstCC ~ obooi VIC nv
price at which such proprietary medicine
shall be old to the consumer. ,... Ia
IF such retail druggist. after becoming
a member Of the National Association OF
Retail Druggists. cuts prices in the sale
of, such articles to the consumer he is
Immediately placed upon the list Of what is
known as aggressive cutters and there
after such retail druggist is unable to obtain
from any manufacturer who is a member
Of the Proprietary Association or from
any wholesale druggist who Is a member of
the Wholesale Druggists' Association any
commodities which may be manufactured
and sold by them or any of them.
AN injunction is prayed for prohibiting
these associations from acting in concert
for the purpose of maintaining r~rices,
and the individuals, firms and corporations
who are members Of the respective as
sociations from acting together for the
of maintaining uniform prices
to the consumers throughout the United