The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1907-10-24
Big Seizure of Tobacco Whle
in Transit
OTHER SEIZURES WILL FOLLOW
Custom Authorities 40 Norfolk At
taeh Shipment Of Leaf Tobacco and
Cigarettes Prom Durham and Con-
signed TO British-Americau Tobac-
CO Company, Great Britain.

be valued at $1,000, from Durham,
\. C., consigned to the British Amer
lean Tobacco Company, of Great Brl-
t4n, has been attached by the gov
ernment here and Is now beng held
by the customs authorities. The ac-
tlon was brought following a confer
ence here last week between Collector
of Customs Hughes, United States
District Attorney L. L. Lewis, and
representative from the Department
of Justice at Washington.
Washington, Special-The Depart
ment of Justice has issued the fol
lowing statement concerning the to-
bocco seizure at Norfolk Monday:
1.-The collector of customs at Nor
folk, Va, under direction of the Ser
rotary Of the Treasury at the instance
OF the Attorney General and in con-
junction with the United States at
torney for the eastern district Of Vir-
ginia, has seized IT'S cases contain
ing S,750,000 cigarettes, valued at ST.
272.5O, which were in transit from
factories of the British-American To-
bacco Company, Limited, located in
Petersburg, Va, and Durham, n. c.,
to New York and foreign countries.
Forfeited to Government.
'Thls seizure was made under Sec
ton 6 of the Sherman antitrust law,
which reads as follows:
Any property owned under any
contract or by any combination, or
pursuant to any conspiracy land be-
ing the subject thereby MENTIONED
IN Section l of this act, and being in
the course of transportation from one
State to another, or to a foreign
country, shall be forfeited to the
United States, and may be seized and
condemned by like proceedings as
those provided by law for the for
felture, seizure and condemnation of
property imported into the United
State contrary to law
''The information on the seizure
will be, fled Tuesday at Richmond
and will state the cause Of seizure to
be that the property was owned
by two American tobacco companies,
that is to say, the American Tobacco
company, with three great English
concerns, namely, the Imperial To-
bacco company, of Great Britain and
Ireland, Limited; Ogdens, Limited,
and the British-American Tobacco
company and the American Cigar
company, Limited, in which contracts
1t was agreed substantially that the
American and English companies
should not compete with one another
in the territories given to EACH In
this contract the corporation named
In effect divided up the world among
them, so far as the tobacco business
was concerned. The information also
contains counts charging that the to-
baeco was owned by a combination
in restraint Of trade and 'pursuant
to conspiracy in restraint of trade, ,
which is mere variation of the Ian
guage of the charge stating the causes
Of forfeiture.
"This is proceeding in rem, that
is to say, against the property itself,
and not against the individuals. If
the owners of the property want to
make defense. they must come into
court and claim the property, and
file their written pleadings, denying
the charges set out in the informa-
ton, and show that the unlawful
combination in restraint of trade
charged in the information does not in
fact exist.
"This is the first time that pro-
ceedings have been taken to enforce
this section Of the Sherman law"
II the administration follows ~ its
seizures Of tobacco owned by trusts
as it goes from state to state or as
it is listed for foreign shipment as
the law requires there is good reason
to believe that something will really
L l. II