The Mena weekly star., 1907-08-01
AGAINST POWDER TRUST
Suit Filed by the Government at Wilmington, Del, to Dissolve
 the Combine.
MANY DEFENDANTS NAMED IN PETITION
Which Charges That All the Corpora. tions and individuals Named Are Violating the sherman Antitrust Law and Asks That Existing Agreements be- Nulified.


 Agreements bc Nullfied.
 Washington, July 31.--The govern ment Tuesday filed in the United States circuit court at Wilmington, Del, petition against F. l. Dupont De Nemours & Co.,, the F. l. Dupont De Nemours Powder company tof New Jersey), and A other corpora tions and IT individuals connected with the 2G corporations which are made defendants in the petition.
 The petition relates that all of the defendants are engaged in interstate trade and commerce in gunpowder and other high explosives and are vio- lating the act of July 2, 1890, com monly known as the sherman anti trust act It seeks to prevent and re- strain the unlawful existing agree Nents, contracts. combinations, and conspiracies in restraint of such trade and commerce, to prevent and restrain the attempts on the part of the de | fendants to monopolize such trade and commerce, and to dissolve the existing monopoles therein.
 The court is asked to determine whether public interests will be bet ter subserved by the appointment Of | receivers to take possession of the | property of the alleged trust with | view to bringing about conditions In | trade and commerce that will be m | harmony with the law. The prayer | in this respect is identical with that l in the so-called tobacco trust petition. | It is stated in the petition that in | 1872 all except three of the concerns selling high explosives in the United States organized with the object of regulating prices at which such com modities should be sold and of driv- ing the other corporations out by unfair competitive methods. This as sociation enjoyed an uninterrupted operation. 1t is said, until 1881. when new agreement was entered into with the object of preventing new manufacturers from engaging in the powder business. In the meantime, the three "would-be" competitors are declared to have been compelled to join the monopoly It is shown that there were succeeding associations in 1886. in 1891, and in 1895, each with the same general object and composed of the same members and their successors. The 1896 assccia- ton continued until 1902 and during the whole period of time from 1872 until 1902 the members of these as sociations, 1t Is asserted. by various unfair business methods. forced sub stantially all competitors out of the powder business until at the latter date they controlled 95 per cent there of
 1 The petition recites many of the op- erations of the so-called powder trust leading up to the organization In May, 1903. under the laws in the state of New Jersey of the F. I. Dupont De Nemours Powder company with cap- Ital stock of $50, 0,000 000. as holding company for the purpose of acquiring the capital stocks of every corpora ton in the United States engaged in manufacturing and dealing in high ex- plosiyes.
 This New Jersey holding company. it is alleged, did acquire control of } the companies operating in high ex- plosives in the United States until
 all of the business of shipping and
 selling such commodities of substan- tially 70 companies, which had from
 time to time since 1872 been separ- ate competing concerns, is now being
 carried on by three gigantic operat-
 ing companies, namely: The Eastern
 Dynamite company and E. l. Dupont Nemours Powder company or Della ware. and the Laflin & Rand Powder
 company.
 The defendants, it Is alleged. al ready have a complete monopoly of the production and distribution of high xe- plosiyes other than smokeless powder. The government asks, in it's prayer
 for relief. that these operating com nanies be enjoined and restrained from operating and engaging in in terstate commerce in the United States or that receivers be appointed to take over their business.
 The government asks also that con trol of certain capital stock in other companies by the various holding companies shall be adjudged unlawful aud void and that the defendants shall he restrained from carrying on al leged unfair competition against a6 independent firms which at the time of the filing of the petition were en- gagged in the manufacture, shipment and sale of blasting powder and dyn- amite in the United States in lawful oompettion with the defendants,