Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-30

capital stock to F. I. du Pont de Nemours
&, Co. for the entire operating business or
=. I. du POnt de Nemours K Co., this oper-
alton leaving the last-named company only
a holding company in control of practically
all of the other companies which were at
that time engaged in the manufacture
shipment and sale Of explosives in the
United States.
The petition then recites the manner IN
which e. I. du Pont de Nemours x 20
transferred all Of the capital stocks "nlch
II had up to that time acquired ana theh
owned in various companies Ior eo5,-
trolling interest in the b. l. ou foht ue
Nemours Powder Company, corpoTalol
which had been organized under the laws
OF the state of New Jersey, with capital
stock of $5OGOOcO0, in May OF ISOo' ny y,
and Its officers and agents and ofhcers ana
agents of the Lahin & Rand Powder
COMPANY, the Hazard Powder Company
and the Eastern Dynamite Company Tor
the purpose OF acquiring and holdlng as
far as It was possible to acquire the capt.
tai stocks of every corporation In the
United States engaged IN manufacturing
and dealing in high explosives.
The petition then sets out the manner
In which the New Jersey holding company
thereafter acquired a majority of the capl,
tai stocks OF other corporations engaged
In dealing In high explosives and the plan
by which it controlled the prices at which
high explosives were sold by the corpora
tons in which 1t had no stock ownership
or control.
Dissolves Subsidiary Companies.
Then follows the allegation that after the
New Jersey holding company had ac-
quired control Of substantially all of the
companies operating in the explosives bust
ness in the United States E. I. du Pont de
Nemours & Co, through E. l. du Pont de
Nemours Powder Company (of New Jersey
caused the corporate existence of the sub
sidiary companies of which 1t owned or
controlled a majority of the capital stock
to be dissolved, and the assets of such
companies to be transferred to one or the
other OF three gigantic operating COM
panies, the particular one of the three oper-
ating companies depending upon the ma
ture of the explosives manufactured and
dealt in by such subsidiary company, until
all Of the business of shipping and selling
high explosives of substantially seventy
companies, which had, from time TO time
since 1872, been separate and independent
competing concerns. is now being carried
on by those three gigantic operating COM
panes.
1t is claimed that the defendants in
combination are unlawfully restraining
trade and commerce in gunpowder and
other high explosives; that they already
have a complete monopoly of the produc-
ton and distribution of smokeless ord
nance powder and have monopoly of 95
per cent Of the production and distribution
Of gunpowder and other high explosives
than smokeless ordnance powder.
In its prayer for relief the government
asks. among other things, that the East
ern Dynamite Company, the E. l. du Pont
de Nemours Powder Company (of Della
ware). and the Latin and Rand Powder
Company, the three gigantic operating
companies, be enjoined and restrained
from operating and engaging in interstate
commerce in the United States, or If the
court Is Of the opinion that the public
interests will be better subserved thereby
that receivers be appointed to take pos
session Of all the property, assets, bust
ness. and affairs of each and all of these
three gigantic operating companies, with
full power to administer the same and to
luke such course In regard thereto will
bring about conditions in such trade and
commerce as shall be in harmony with
law.
The prayer In respect to such receivership
is identical with that In the tobacco trust
petition.
The government also prays that the hold
ing, ownership and control of certain capt.
tai stocks in other companies by the vari-
Gus holding companies which are defend
ants, and which were organized and used
by E. /. du Pont de Nemours & Co. as
stock-holding companies, be adjudged un-
lawful and void.
The government also prays that the de
PENDANTS in the petition be enjoined and re-
strained from carrying on certain unfair
competition. which the petition alleges they
are now carrying on, against twenty-six in
dependent firms, co-partnershipS and cor
porations which are at the time of the filing
Of the petition engaged in the manufacture
and shipment and sale of blasting powder
and dynamite in the United States in law
full competition with the defendants.