The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-07-19
THE PAPER rnusT.

W4
 A Letter from Herman Riddsr ts Fres-
 fdenk RooseveIt.
 New York July 1s.--The following letter from Herman Rfdder to Pvesi- dent Roosevelt was made public to, day:
 May we invoke the aid of your pow erful office in our effort to stop the expressions of paper comofnationss When the American Newspaper Pub fishers Association applied to Congress for relief, we were told that the courts would provide adequate and prompt remedy. Eight months ago we submit ted to the Department of Justice all the material we had. relating to seven groups of paper makers. The outcome ton is insignificant. Twenty-four pa- per companies. acting together in the Fiber and Manila Association, added SIS per ton to the price of fiber ans Ma nila paper on an annual output of 200,- 900 tons, In successive raises of s5, s2, $2, $3 and s4. so that an average ad- dition of s10 per ton or s2.00O, 900 per annum was imposed by that combina- ton upon consumers. When they were subjected to inquisition by the Federal grand jury. the paper makers admitted that they had placed their records be- yond their reach. but subsequently, all but two of the participants pleaded
 
 or s4s.000 in all. The maximum penal ty is $5,00o for each offense. Immunity was practically granted to every ipdi- viduai who participated in that pool only one man. the treasurer and origf nator of the pool, John H. Parks. now fugitive in Europe. was included in the indictment. All the other defend- ants were corporations or partnerships. We maintain that such finish to the procedure is a miscarriage of justice. When a fine of $48,000 is imposed for an extortion of s2,o00,00o 1t places premium upon lawlessness. and brings vividly to us realization of the hope iessness of relief under methods that prevail. especially when the United States District Attorney. while grant, ing immunity to the individual, urges leniency for the corporations which employ them. How different this case is from that of the ancient law, when the wrongdoer lost not only the prop erty which he had wrongfuiiy taken. or the value of that which he had destroyed. but also all the restof his property was forfeited to the State. Here corporation breaks the law, and 1t secures immunity for the offending individual.
 "So far as we have been able to learn, no steps have been taken against the Box Board Pool, operated from the same office of John H. Parks. or against the Sulphite Pulp Association, whose bylaws and membership were submitted to the Department of Justice eight months ago, or against other of- lenders.
 ssFhe operations of the Box Board Pool in twenty-six months included invoices of $S2,000, 900, with net profits of s4.S35.s52 on S5s,677 tons.
 "The counsel of the paper makers who pleaded guilty in New York on the 18th inst, stated that their out put represented only 23 per cent. of the total nroduction of wrapping pa- per. The letters set forth in the in- dictment and the books and records now in the possession of the United States District Attorney at New York. indicate (see folio 242 of indictment) that the Western Fiber and Manila Mills, which were under distinct pro- hibition against restriction Of output met in November. 1907, and decided to restrict production. We are confident those records will also disclose the {. methods by which the 23 per cent. of indicted paper makers secured the CO., operation of the other 77 per cent. to maintain the extraordinary advance in price One of the conspirators, the Petoskey Fiber Paper Company. which had been a member of the General Pa per Company, and which had been en- joined by the United States Court on June IS, 1906. from participation in such pools failed to enter an appear anceH It figured on the records of the indicted association as Charles Jones'" Another of the conspfrators, the Con- tinentaf Paper Bag Company, is the exclusive selling agent for four mills of the International Paper Company. which have capacity of 63.000 tons of | Manila paper per annum. The charac- | ter of the criminality of that connection may be inferred from the fact that I the name of the Continental Paper | Bag Company was entered upon the | books of the association as John | Smith," and letters pertaining to it's | business with the association were ad- | dressed to John Smith, New York"
 The hopelessness of our efforts for | relief may be appreciated when 1t s known:
 "ta) That c. H. P Gould appeared as an individual before the M9nn | Committee on Saturday, May 16, 1908, l and testified (Page 1011 nf hearinss) | that he did not know of any agree ment or understanding If any Kind | among the paper manufacturers or the | selling agents to put fixed or con certed price upon paper to restrict | the output. Yet on June 1s, 1908, the | Gould Paper Company the corpora ton of which H. P. Gould is Presi- l dent, pleaded guilty to the indictment | charging the regulation or price and | of output in restrain of trade for | period beginning September. 1906.
 "(b) Tom T. Waller, Vice-President l of the International Paper Company, | testified (see Page 1te9 of hearings) | on May 1s. 1908, before the Mann Com |