The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-08-02
PROHIBITION WINS ITO BUST THE TRUST|
Court Asked to Consider the Advisa-
bility of Appointing Receivers 10
Take Possession OF the Property OF
Alleged Trust-Charged That Un-
fair Methods Have Been Used to
Stife Competition

Washington, July 3O.-The gov
ernment today filed in the United
States circuit court for the district
of Delaware, at Wilmington Del,
a petition against E |. DUPONT de
Nemours Powder company (of New
Jersey} ana "a other corporations
ana Il individuals connected with
the 26 corporations which are made
defendants in the petition.
The petition relates that all the
defendants are engaged in interstate
trade and commerce in gunpOwder
ana other high explosives and are
violating the act of July 2, 1890,
commonly known as the Sherman
antitrust act. 1t seeks to prevent
and restrain the unlawful existing
agreements, contracts, combinations
and cOnspiracies in restraint of such
trade and commerce to prevent and
restrain the attempts on 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 DE
better subsurved 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 in harmony with the law
The prayer in this respect is identi-
cal with that of the sO-called tobac-
CO trust petition.
1t is stated in the petition that the
monopoly has by very unfair busi-
mess methods forced substantially all
competitors out of the powder busi-
mess until they control 50 per cent
|thereof
b The petitions recites many of the
Operations OF the so-called powder
|trust, leading up to the organization
Fin May, 1903, under the laws in
/ the state Of New Jersey Of the E l.
dupont de Nemours Powder Com
Epany, with a capital of $4,000, 200,
as a holding company for the pur-
pose OF acquiring the capI,al stocks
of every corporation in the United
|engaged in the manufacturing
land dealing in high explosives. This
New Jersey holding company, it is
|alleged, did acquire control Of the
|cOmpanys operating in high eXplO-
Esives in the United States until all
of the business of shipping and sell
ing such commodities of substantial
Ely seventy companies, which had,
from time to time since 1872, been
sseparate competing concerns, is now
being carried on by three gigantic
Operating companies, namely: The
5Eastern Dynamite Company. the E.
IT. Dupont de Nemours Powder Com
pany of Delaware and the Laflin
and Rand Powder Company.
The defendants, it is alleged, al
ready have a complete monopoly of
the production and distribution of
smOkeless ordnance powder, in addi-
ton to the monopoly Of 95 per cent.
of the production and distribution of
high explosives other than smokeless
powder.
The government asks in it's prayer
for relief that these operating COM
panies be enjoined and restrained
from operating and engaging in in
terstate commerce in the United
States or that receivers be appoint
ed to take over the business.
The government asks also that the
control of certain capital stocks in
other companies by the various hold
ing companies shall be adjudged un-
lawful and void and that the de-
PENDANTS shall be restrained from
carrying on alleged unfair cOmpeti-
ton against 26 independent firms
which at the time of the filing of
the petition were engaged in the
manufacture, shipment and sale of
blasting powder and dynamite in the
United States in lawful competition
with the defendants.