Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-22
LICENSE UNDER PATENT
ALLEGED TRUST WEAPON
Territory Divided. It Is Charged,
and Prices Fixed.
SUIT FILED IN BALTIMORE
Seventeen Corporations and Their
Officials Are Named as Defend
ants-Pittsburg Head
quarters.

The bathtub trust, as il has come to be
known. practically controlling the out
put in the United States of bathtubs,
washboVls, laNatories, sinks, drinking
fountains etc. must answer in the courts
Of the country as 10 whether it is violat-
Ing the Sherman antitrust law. The
Department of Justice, which today lied
suit against the trust in the United States
circuit court at Baltimore, is confident 1t
will be able To break the trust
The action at Baltimore today, brought
under the direction of Edwin p Grosve-
nor special attorney of the department,
involves the Standard Sanitary Manufac-
turing Company. a new Jersey corpora
ton with Offices in Pittsburg. and six
teen other manufacturers, including their
officers, total of fifty companies and
men. Among the companies is the j. L..
Mott iron works of New York, with I'M
portant local offices in Washington.
Prompt Investigation Made.
The trust has virtually been in exist
ence for a number of years, but 1t has
lately grown arrogant in its methods. IL
is stated, resulting in complaint being
filed in the department less than six
weeks ago. A prompt investigation was
made, Attorney General Wickersham di-
recting the ringing of the suit before
leaving for Alaska.
The combination, it is charged. controls
81 per cent of the business in which it Is
engaged
This suit differs from other suits insti-
tuted under The Sherman act, according
10 a statement given out at the Depart
ment of Justice, in that the defendants
have attempted 10 conceal their unlawful
purposes under rife Suise of an OStensible
lcensing arrangement under a patent
That is TO say, they assigned a patent to
person selected by them and then all
took licenses To manufacture and sell un-
der that patent, and by these license
agreements fixed prices and all the terms
OF the combination. They have attempted
To use the patent laws, it is charged, as
a screen while violating the Sherman law
Suppression of Competition.
The defendants. it is alleged. have sup
pressed all competition between each
other giving identically the same dis
counts and have divided the country into
territorial or geographical zones. restrict
ing jobbers TO particular zones and hold
ing them firmly to the arrangement.
The official statement of the govern
ment's case says:
The companies in the trust are OBJ
serving, under agreement. uniform
method of selling their products to JOB
bers under written contracts whereby each
. jvober Is compelled To sell at certain
nxed resale prices. These contracts are
the same to all Jobbers throughout the
nited States. No defendant will sell
any sanitary enameled ironware except
pursuant To the terms OF these uniform
contracts. whicn establish uniform resale
prices which jobpers must observe IN
sales TO their customers.
Jobbers Must Sign Contract.
Under the terms of the combination
no defendant will sell to any jobber
who has not signed such a contract and
agreed TO sell at such resale prices.
No defendant Will sell to any Jobber
Who a. buying any sanitary enameIed
lIonWd!e from other manufacturers
thdn those VINO are parties to the com
bindtion.
No defendant viii sell any of its
products To any person or company
VINO IS not recognized by all the de-
PENDANTS d JobUcr.
he result Of the combination is that
today throughout the United States all
purchasers and users of sanitary en-
ameled ironwaTe are obliged to pay the
same prices. which have been hXed by
the defendants by mutual agreement
and without competition with each
other
The defendants have devised means
by which each OF them is advised OF
the amount oi the output OF each OF
the other defendants. in order that
thereby they may BY agreement limit
aud restrict their respective outputs as
may seem advisable
The defendants have largely and un-
reasonably Increased tile prices at which
trey sell their products 10 jobbers. and
Eore particularly they have advanced
the resale prices of jobbcrs by their sys-
ten of contracts.
Heavy penalties are imposed on any
trust concern violating its agreements"
List OF the Defendants.
The following are the defendants in the
proceeding:
Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Com
pany. \. Weiskittel q Co the Barnes
Manufacturing Company, the Cahill iron
works. the COiwel Lead COMPANY. Day-
Ward Company, Humphreys Manufacture
ing Company, kerner Manufacturing
COMPANY. j. j. Mott iron works, Mcvay
walker, McCrum-HowelI Company
National Sanitary Manufacturing Com.
pany, Union Sanitary Manufacturing
Company, United States Sanitary Manu-
featuring Company, l.. Wolff Manufac-
turing Company: Wheeling Enameled
Iron Company. Theodore Ahrens. Francis
}. Torrance, T. L. Dawes. W. A. Myler
Anton Weiskittel, John ID. Heise, c. IL
Noesele, + r. Barnes. +. ii. Caldwell J.
Mahoney Jesse T. Duryee, Bert O.
Tiiden. w. & Winfield, ~ g. Ward, s.
n. Ford. Reid Carpenter, j. s Frauen-
helm. Jordan l.. Mott. Max Goebel
Thomas Walker. Alexander c. Walker
Lloyd g. McCrum, Howard c. Gates
Frank 6. Borden, d. w Davis, l.. c.
Huesman, e. V Brinsham, Charles AR.
rott, a. H. Kline, jr.. Ludwig Wolff
Herman Hoelscher j. T. Wright. George
w Franzhcim and Edwin L. Wayman