Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-06-13
THE TOBACCO TRUST IS NOW IN TROUBLE \. V. Taft Says The Books Show a Monopoly In the Plug Tobacco
 Business. COURTS ORDER NOT 0BEYED The Governments Counsel Says it is a Scheme to Render the
 Officers Immune.

I New York, June 13.-The fedora
 grand jury yesterday afternoon asked
 Judge Lacombe to adjudge in con
 tempt William H. McAlister, secre
 tary of the American Tobacco Co; William E. Ransom, secretary of the
 MacAndrews & Forbes Co, and John
 IS. Young of the John s. Young Go oi
 Baltimore, for having failed to pro.
 duce certain books and records as
 cited in subpoenas made returnable
 June 4. The men appeared on that
 date, but did not produce the books. They appeared again Monday, but did not produce the data, claiming
 that 1t was not in their possession, and also that the books contain per sonal as we'll as official matter. They offered. however, to produce letters asked for.
 The argument before Judge La
 combe in support of the presentment
 of the federal grand jury asking for the punishment of the alleged recall citrant witnesses was made by Spe- Icial Assistant Attorney General Hen ry w. Taft, brother of Secretary of War Taft, who Is in charge of the
 governments investigation of the to-
 bacco trust. MT Taft argued that
 the books which the witnesses re- peatedly failed to produce. in partic-
 ualr~ the letter press copy books of the MacAndrews & Forbes Co, sub sidiary corporation of the American Tobacco Co, contain the preliminary arrangements for the ''cornering" not only in the United States, but practically in the world. of licorice paste, used in the manufacture of plug tobacco. Many minor and in- dependent companies, he said, were forced out of the plug tobacco manu featuring business through their in- ability to obtain this paste, which, he declared. Is monopolized by the American Tobacco Co.,
 Counsel for the accused claimed that the book contained the personal letters of President Karl Jungbluth of the company, access to which the government had no right to demand. Replying, Special Assistant Attorney General Taft charged the witness with refusing to produce the books on the advice of counsel, hoping thereby to force the government to subpoena President Jungbluth and render him immune from prosecution for any violation of the antitrust law, as under his constitutional priv ilege he could not be forced to give evidence against himself. Mir Taft asked the court whether 1t was going to hold that by distributing its books of record among its various officials a company could compel the govern ment to subpoena these officers, rendering all of them im- mune from prosecution. He said:
 "A man knowing the letters he was about to write would be damag- Ing. if produced in court. could, if this contention proves true, laugh the | government to scorn by merely copy | Ing in the book single private let ter. Such an act would defeat the | ends of justice and render an exam | nation into the acts of trusts violat- | Ing the governments laws farce"
 Judge Lacombe suggested that the I letter book be produced before him and said that he would examine it and determine what portions of 1t were material. He then set the argu- nents on the motion to punish the three men for contempt down for next Saturday.