The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-07-31

- called powder trust were ISSUED y
= soon after. the filing of the petit :
:. ton. They are returnable the first :
:. Monday In October. Henry A Du- :
:. pont. who is United States sena- :
=. tor, exercises a dominant influence =
- over the business of the powder :
- company, according to the bill. =
'::..:..:-:.. {:
Washington, July SO.-The govern
ment today filed in the United States
circuit court at Wilmington, Del, a
petition against E. 1. Dupont. De Ne
mours & Co, the E. I. Dupont-De Ne
mours Powder company of New Jer-
sey, and twenty-four other corpora
tons and seventeen individuals con-
nected with the twenty-six corpora
tons 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 violating
the act of July 2, $780, known as the
Sherman antitrust act. 1t seeks TO
prevent and restrain the unlawful ex-
listing agreements, contracts, cOnbina-
tons and cOnspiracies in restraint of
such trade and commerce, to prevent
and restrain the attempts upon the
part Of the defendants to mOnopolize
such trade and commerce, and to dis
solve the existing .monopolies therein.
The court is asked TO determine
whether public interests will be better
subserved by the appointment of re-
ceivers to take possession of the prop
erty of the alleged trust with a view
TO bringing about conditions in trade
and commerce that will be harmonious
with the law The prayer in this re-
spect is identical with that in the So
called tobacco trust petition.
1t 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 driving
the other corporations out of business
by unfair competitive methods. This
association enjoyed an uninterrupted
operation, it is said, until 1881, when
q new agreement was entered into with
the object of preventing new manufac-
turers from engaging in the powder
business.
Unfair Methods.
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, 1891 and in 1896.
composed of the same members and
their successors, The 1896 association
continued until 1902, and during the
whole period of time from 1872 until
1902 the members of these associa-
lions, il is asserted. by various unfair
business methods, forced substantially
all competitors out of the powder bust
ness until at the latter date they con-
trolled 80 per cent thereof.
erations of the so-called powder trust
leading up to the organization, in May,
1903 under the laws of the state of
New Jersey of the E. 1. DupOnt-De Ne
nOurs Powder company, with a cap
ital Of $780, O0,0 900 as a holding company
for the purpose of acquiring the cap
ital stocks of every corporation in the
United States engaged in manufactur-
ing and dealing in high explosives.
This New Jersey holding company, it
is alleged, did acquire control of the
companies operating in high explosives
in the United States until all of the
business of shipping and selling such
commodities of substantially seventy
companies, which had from time to
time since 1872 been separate compet-
ing concerns, and now being carried on
by three gigantic operating companies,
namely, the Eastern Dynamite COM
pany, the Z. l. Dupont-De Nemours
Powder company of Delaware and the
Latin & Rand Powder company.
The defendants, ii is alleged, already
have a complete monopoly of the pro-
duction and distribution of smokeless
ordnance powder, in addition TO the
monopoly of 50 per cent of the produce
ton of explosives other than smoke
less powder.
The government asks in it's prayer
for relief that these operating compa-
MES be enjOined and restrained from
operating and engaging in interstate
commerce in the United States. or that
receivers be appointed to take over
their business.
The government also asks that GER