The Evening standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1910-1913, 1910-12-07

The criminal proceedings =
4 grew out of civil suit TO dissolve +
\ the alleged combination begun =
4 by the government in the federal +
4 court at Baltimore
Hearings were held in Chicago. ,
\ Pittsburg and New York within y
\ the last forty days. r
= \ 4 y + = + \ + \ \ Y
The evidence adduced was present
ed to the grand jury by Edwin 2.
Grosvenor. special assistant TO the at
torney- general OF the United States
District Attorney Watson, of Detroit
and Joseph Darling. special agent of
tho department of justice. Secret
hearings began yesterday and nothing
was given out until the indictments
were handed down this afternoon.
Get Control Of 400 Jobbcrs-
II is charged that as the result OF n
ten-days meeting at Mount Celmens'
Mich, last April fund of $1,000 was
raised to set in motion plan that
resulted in giving the defendants con-
troll OF sixteen manufacturers and
nearly four hundred jobbers, repre-
senting an output OF approximately
ten million dollars year.
Both the civil suits started at Bal
tmore and the criminal proceedings
here have been instituted under the
Sherman antitrust law.
Defendant Firms.
The defendant firms in the criminal
proceedings are:
Standard Sanitary Manufacturing
company. Pittsburg, Pa; A, Weislte-
tel & Sons Company. Baltimore; the
Barnes Manufacturing Co. Mansfield
Ohio. the Cahill Iron Works, Chatta'
nooga. Tenn, Colwell Lead company
New York City. the Day.Ward com
pany, Warren. Ohio the Humphreys
Manufacturing company. Mansfield
Ohio. Kerner Manufacturing company
Plttsburg. the ]. T. Mott Iron Works
New York City; McVay & Walker
Braddock, Pa; the McCrum-Howeil
company. New York City; the Ma.
tional Sanitary Manufacturing com
pany, Salem. Ohio; Union Sanitary
Manufacturing company, Noblesville
Ind: L. Wolff Manufacturing com
pany, Chicago: Wheeling Bnamelled
Iron company. Wheeling. w Va; U
S. Sanitary Manufacturing company
Pittsburg, Pa.
Two Indictments Against Industria.s
The two indictments against each
defendant contain six and -four counts
respectively. and charge that the de-
PENDANTS controlling so per cent an
nual output combined TO restrain the
trade of the manufacturers and OF
jobbers OF plumbing supplies by re.
fusing to sell 10 jobbers handling the
goods of so-called Independents. by
fixing resale prices, by dividing the
United States into eleven zones. by
refusing TO sell to jobbers who would
not maintain their sale prices.
1t is charged that the effect of these
resale prices is to make the price the
same throughout the United States
and to eliminate competition of job
bers. as we'll as of manufacturers.
Made Jobbcrs Enter Uniform Con-
tract.
The indictments also charge that
the defendants compelled the joboers
to enter into uniform contracts and
that all the defendants refused to sell
to any jobber unless he would sign
contract
The government officials took the
ground that the evidence In the civil
suit established that the defendants
attempted to disguise their combina'
tlon by the subterfuge OF purchasing
the patents on certain tools and licens-
ing certain firms to use these tools.
The government places great
weight on the testimony of Edwin i.
Wayman of Pittsburg, who is descrlb
ed as the licenser of the alleged COM
bination and whose testimony In the
civil suit has given him immunity
from criminal proceedings
Collected a Big Fee.
The government charges that Way
man obtained $1,000 from the Peoples
State bank of Detroit by giving 100
shares of the Standard Sanitary Man
ufacturlng company as security, and
that using this fund to purchase sew
eral patents. $4,000 went back to the
Standard Manufacturing company for
patents that it is alleged TO have
turned over to the combination. Way,
man is not a voluntary witness.
The government charges that Way
man collected $5 a furnace day
from each OF the sixteen defendant
firms, some Of which had as many
as eighty furnaces. and that after two
months those firms that did net vio
late the agreement were to receive a
rebate OF so per cent of this contrl
button Wayman' collections, il Is
alleged, ran as high as 500 day.
The defendants against whom In
dictments were found today will be
required to appear at once IN the
United States court here and give
bonds for their appearance.
Witnesses Who Testified.
Among the witnesses who gave teS-
timony here are Walter ]. Kahler
president of the NJ Kohler Sons
company. Sheboygan. Chicago, San
Francisco and New York
John a Kelly. of the Iron City San
ltary Manufacturing company. Pitts
burg and Zelienople. Pa.
John l. Sullwold, president of the
Western Supply company, st, Paul
MINI.
Henry E. Bullock. president Of the
Illinois Malleable Iron company, Chi