The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-11-29
AIMS BLOW AT
SUGAR COMBINE
Government Files LOng-Ex'
peCted Suit.
THIRTY COMPANIES NAMED

ginning With Original Trust Agree
ment In 1897, and Describes Meth.
DDS Employed by American Sugar
Refining Company In Dealing With
Competltors-How Beet Sugar In
dustry Was Brought Into Trust.
New York, Nov. 29.-United States
Attorney Wise filed in the United
States circuit court the long-expected
bill Of complaint in the governments
suit 10 dissolve the sugar trust, un-
der the Sherman antitrust law. The
suit, like that against the Standard
Oil company, is a proceeding in
equity, in which the government
asks the court to declare upon the
facts alleged that a combination and
conspiracy exists for the monopoly
of the sugar business and to restrain
the American company, the National
Sugar Refining company and the
Western Sugar Refining company
from engaging in interstate com
merce in sugar and to restrain any
one from voting on the stock of the
companies mentioned in the bill.
The BILL to which are attached
copies of agreements as far back as
the original trust agreement of 1887,
makes up a book of 237 pages. 1t
was drawn by Mr.. Wise under the
direction Of Attorney General Wick.
ersham, and names as defendants 80
sugar companies alleged to be part
Of the trust, together with their Off
GERS; and also the executors of the
will of Fl. o. Havemeyer, head of the
American Sugar Refining company.
under whose direction the alleged
monopoly was formed. The princi-
pal companies named as defendants
are, besides the American, the West
ern Sugar Refining company. the Ma
tional and a California cane sugar re-
fining company in which the Ameri-
can hold one-half of the stock.
Among the individual defendants
named are Washington B. Thomas,
Charles II. Allen, former assistant
secretary of the treasury and lately
elected treasurer Of the trust; John
d. Spreckels, Adolph B. Spreckels
and John d. Spreckels, Jr., and Jo-
seph F. Smith of Utah, head Of the
Mormon church.
The bill recites the history Of the
companies, beginning with the orig
inal trust agreement of 1887, when
II OF the % existing sugar compa-
nies entered into a combination un-
der the name of the Sugar Refineries
company, controlling 80 per cent of
the industry. Within the next two
years, it is alleged, ~ of the re-
fneries then combined we're closed
up and the remainder were combined
into four large refneries.
One paragraph of the bill recites
the facts of the loan made to Adolph
Segal of Philadelphia, by which the
trust got control of the Pennsylvania
Sugar Refining company, which were
involved by the suit won by Receiver
Earle and which are the subject of
the Indictment now pending against
John L. Parsons. Washington s.
Thomas and other directors. In addi.
tion to giving a summary Of the Gus
toms frauds and the rebate cases as
evidence Of the means employed to
crush rivals, the bill says:
"In order further to cripple com.
petitors, destroy competition and
strengthen the monopoly, the defend
ants, acting in combination, have
long sought unduly to control the
avenues through which sugar is dis.
tributed as part of interstate and
foreign trade and commerce. BY
using their great power they have
successfully demanded that brokers
and other Intermediates should han
die their products unfairly and un
lawfully and for a long time they
wron6iully induced members of vari
Gus Wholesale grocers' associations
throughout the country to purchase
and handle their sugars exclusively
and TO sell the same at uniform
prices without competition among
themselves, and thereby have greatly
damn.fed their competitors, other
manufacturers and dealers, as well
as the public"
In order to acquire the beet sugar
companies the American, the bill re
cites, sent out large quantities OF
sugar to the middle west, on which
1t obtained rebates and free storage
then dropped the price below cost
and, when this had weakened these
companies, 1t began to acquire them
II is alleged that 1t purchased one
half of the common stock of the
American Beet Sugar company and
put 1t under contract not to com
pete, and exacted one-quarter OF a
cent Per pound for all sugar sold by
that company. This arrangement,
says the government, CONTINUED un