The Dolores star., 1907-11-29
SUIT AGAINST FOOD TRUST.


Instituted BY Attorney General Dick
son Of Colorado.
characterization to appear in the
district court December I'd. to show
cause why q permanent Injunction
should not be issued against them to
restrain further operations Of their al
legged combine. were served Tuesday
on Denver officers and members of the
Retail Grocers' Association. the Colo
RADIO Retail Merchants Association
and the oficialp of the jobbing and
Wholesale houses. charged by Attorney
General Dickson with being parties tt'
an agreement in restraint of trade.
While Sheriff Nisbets deputies
were serving the papers on the men
who. 1t is charged, are responsible fof
the exorbitant prices OF foodstuffs in
Colorado. additional evidence was ad.
duced Of the methods employed to
force those who would not do their
bidding out of business.
The latest exposure of the trust op
erations to come to light is the case
of The Wonder Mercantile Company
of Montrose, s. B. Wonder. president
and treasurer of the concern. in let
ter to the News, tells the same tale Of
alleged boycotting tactics that has
been related by other merchants be-
fore him, and encloses letter from
the Merchants Biscuit Company. which
shows the close relations between the
grocers and the jobbers.
The letter of the Merchants Biscuit
Company bears the signature of c. A..
Bowman, president and manager, and
the request. please return" The let
ters follow:
"The Wonder Mercantile Co., Mon
trose, Colo.
"Gentlemen-We have been hoping
for some time past that yourselves and
the association would get together and
settle your differences, but it seems
that is out Of the question.
"Our Mr.. Bridgman was in Montrose
a few days since and reports that our
selling to your firm has cut him out
entirely; l do not want you to run out
Of crackers, so take this method of CIV
ing you due notice that we will not be
able to make you any further ship
ments until the deal is of. l regret
having to take this stand, but you un-
derstand better than 1 can explain.
Yours very truly.
THE MERCHANTS BISCUIT CO.,
C. A. Bowman, Manager.
please return"
Wonders letter follows:
ITO the Rocky Mountain News:
'In your fight on the grocery trust
of this state. we beg to advise you that
we have been one of the worst victims
OF the trust known as the Grocers' AS
ISOLATION. We were first asked to join
1t. After refusing we were then noti'
fed we would be compelled to DO So
Still refusing. the wholesale houses
were notified, and in order to carry On
our business we were compelled to buy
our goods as best we could through a
third party, being refused goods by the
leading houses of the state for nc
other reason than by being commanded
to do so by the local trust.
I'VE were also notified by the secre
tary, then Mr.. Gardner OF Denver, thai
II we did not maintain the prices u
sugar as laid down by the association
1t was in a position to see that we
could not buy dollars worth of goods
in the state, etc.
"The local association went so faI
as to prevent us from being able to buy
a pound Of butter from our local cream
cry or a dollars worth OF goods from
our local commission houses, and uset
every effort to prevent us from bein.
able to buy flour from our local mill
but fortunately at the mill they strucl
a firm with sufficient backbone to rur
their own business, and we are still
able to buy Montrose -four. We enclose
a letter from Merchants B. Co., one o
the many we received.
This boycott was started on us las
March and they have kept 1t up eve
since SO far as they were able. W.
are ready at any time to make afiidavi
or give evidence in the case. Very re
spectfully. S. B. WONDER.
"Montrose, Colo"