Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-31
POWDER
TRUST HIT
INTERSTATE COMMERCE coMMIs-
SION AFTER DUPONT
COMPLETE MONOPOLY ExER-
cIsED, is CHARGE
BIZ Filed in Federal Court Hints That
Receiver May Be Appointed.
United States Senator
Head of Company
BY Associated Press.

By Associated Press.
WASHINGTON, July 30.-The govern
ment today filed in the United States
circuit court at Wilmington, Del, a petit
| ton against E. 1. Dupont, De Nemours
& Co., the e. I. Dupont-De Nemours
Powder company of New Jersey and
twenty-four other corporations and seven
teen individuals connected with the
twenty-six corporations which are made
defendants in the petition.
The petition relates that all of the de-
PENDANTS are engaged in interstate trade
and commerce in gunpowder and other
high explosives and are violating the act
of July q 1890, known as the Sherman
antitrust act. 1t seeks to prevent and
restrain the unlawful existing agree
ments, contracts, combinations and con-
spiracies In restraint of such trade and
commerce to prevent and restrain the at
tempts upon the part of the defendants
to monopolize such trade and commerce
and to dissolve the existing monopolies
therein.
The court is asked to determine whether
public interests will be better subserved
by the appointment of receivers to take
possession of the property of the alleged
trust with view to bringing about con-
ditions in trade and commerce that will
be harmonious with the law.
The prayer in this respect is identical
with that in the so-called tobacco trust
petition.
Form Great Trust
1t is said in the petition that in 1872 ell :
except three of the concerns selling high
explosives in the United States organized
with the object of regulating prices at
which such commodities should be sold
and driving the ether corporations out Of
business by unfair methods.
This association enjoyed an uninter-
rupted operation, 1t Is said, until 1881,
when a new agreement was entered into
with the object of preventing new manu-.
facturers from engaging in the powder
business In the meantime the three
''would-b be- competitors are declared to
have been compelled to join the monopoly.
1t is shown that there were succeeding
associations in 1886, 1891 and in 1896, each
with the same general lobject and COM
posed of the same members and their
successors. The 1896 association continued
until 1902. and during the whole period of
that time from 1872 until 1902 the members
of these associations, 1t is asserted. by
various unfair bushes methods forced
substantially all competitors out of the
powder business until at the latter date
they controlled 95 per cent thereof.
The petition recites many of the opera
ing up to the organization in May, 1903.
under the laws in the state of New Jer-
sey, of the\ e. I. Dupont-De Nemours
Powder company with a capital stock Of
$50,0O0,000 as a holding company for the
purpose of acquiring the capital stocks of
every corporation in the United States
engaged in dealing with high explosives.
Exercised Monopoly
This New Jersey holding company, it is
alleged did acquire control of the COM
panies operating in high explosives in the
United States until all the business of
shipping and selling such commodities of
substantially seventy companies which
had from time to time since 1872 been
separate competing concerns, and now
being carried on by three gigantic operat-
ing companies, namely, the Eastern Dyna-
mite company and the 2. l. Dupon-De
Nemours Powder company of Delaware
and the Latin & Rand Powder company.
The defendants it is alleged, already
have a complete monopoly of the produce
ton and distribution of smokeless ord
dinance powder in addition to the mon
opoly of 95 per cent of the production Of
explosives other than swokeless powder.
The government asks in its prayer for
relief that these operating companies be
enjoined and restrained from operating
and engaging in interstate commerce IN
the United States or that receivers be ap-
pointed to take over their business.
The government also asks that certain
capital stock in other companies by the
various holding companies shall be adj
Judged unlawful and void and that the
defendants shall be restrained from carry
ing on alleged unfair competition against
twenty-six Independent firms which at
the time of the filing of the petition were
engaged in the manufacture, shipment
and sale of blasting powder and dyna-
mite in the United States in lawful COM
petition with the defendants.
WILMINGTON, Del, July 30.-Sub-
poenas in connection with the govern
ment's suit against the so-called powder
trust were issued soon after the filing of
the petition. They are returnable the
first Monday in October. Henry A. Du-
pont, who is United States senator.
exercises a dominant influence over the
business of the powder company, accord
ing to the bill.