The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-12-31
Supreme Court Asked to
Widen the Scope of Findings
of the Circuit Judges and
Bring Others to Judgment
WICKED AND UNFAIR
METHODS OF TRUST
Competitors Forced Out of
Business, and Others Are
Prevented From Entering
Trade by the Combination,
MAY ASK FOR A RECEIVER

Washington, Dec. 90.-In a printed
brief of 268 pages, Attorney General
Wickersham and his special assist
ant, J. c. MoReynOlds, today pre-
scented to the supreme court Of the
United States the case of the govern
ment in the st. Louis Tobacco trust
cases, which will be argued next week
in that court.
The cases were tried i'm the United
States circuit court for the Southern dis
trict of New York which after dismissing
the petition as TO foreign tobacco com
panies, and some of the subordinate
American companies adjudged the others
10 be parties TO an unlawful conspiracy
and enjoined them from continuing their
operations and from engaging in inter
state commerce
The attorney general takes the position
that the findings, sweeping as they seem
TO have been, were not broad enough. and
le asks the Supreme court to extend them
so as To widen their scope to take ia
foreign companies and some individuals
relieved from the operation of the YER
dict. Many other extensions of tile judg-
ment are also requested
Assets of s4oO,Ooo,OOO.
After showing that in 1890 competition
was free. the various coalitions are traced
In the document, and facts are given to
show that the combination has grown
until it, combined assets amount to $780,,
10000.
Ut is asserted that the combination
manufactures all of the cigarettes for
export and almost three-fOurths Of the
smoking tobacco and cigarettes for do
nestle sale; more than three-fOurths OF
plug, twist and fine cut tobacco and al
most all of TIE snuff and little cigars
that are made.
II is declared that THE defendants have
persistenuy exercised duress, have prac-
ticed wicked and unfair methods. and
used their great power in oppressive
ways
Further. it is asserted that they have
been actuated 10y a fixed purpose to de-
stroy competition and 10 Obtain mOnOpO-
lies. Competitors have gradually disap-
peared, and the combination. now strongly
entrenChed unduly restricts the business
of those i'm the trade and prevents others
from entering it, il is declared.
Contrary to Common Law.
Putting aside, for the time the effect
of the Sherman antitrust law, under
which the suit was brought, il is con-
tended that the combination under the
name Of the American Tobacco company
was Illegal when it was entered into i'm
1880, because it was contrary to the COM
mon law. COntending for the right OF
congress to enact antitrust legislation, it
is asserted that the essential purpose of
the Sherman law is TO prevent injury. not
merely TO reverse a course of conduct.
The attorney general also lays down the
general proposition that the right free
Is TO buy, sell and transfer property Is
not q fundamental civil right TO be eX-
ercised without limitation as interested
parties may determine, and he adds the
assertion that lit is subOrdinat to public
policy and the lawfully expressed wish
of congress"
Coming TO specific instances relative to
substantially all established jObbers in
New England were induced TO throw out
independent products, as were those Of
Philadelphia, New York and many other
specified places.
Tt is asserted that Independent jobbing
fn New York was destroyed by the or
ganization of the Metropolitan Tobacco
Continued on Page Eighth