The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-11-29
Suit Is Filed to DiSSOIVS American Sugar RGfiR-
 ing Company
CHARGES ARE MADE OF
 UNLAWFUL COMBINATION
Company Arc Aimed at in Effort to Break Up Great Monop-
 OIy in Prices

New York, November 2S.-The federal government today began one of it's most important actions against great corpora tions which are said to have violated the sherman antitrust law. Henry A. Wise.
 United States district attorney. filed Tn the United States district court for the southern district of New York d petition asking for the dissolution of the Ameri- can Sugar Refining company and 20 other corporations which composed the so- called sugar trust. It charges an illegal combination in restraint of trade and asks of the court relief in whatever form may be necessary, including a receiver ship if deemed advisable.
 The 30 companies composing the sugar combine have an aggregate capitalization of $230000, 600 and control a large percent age of the output of the sugar In this country. The combine is able, the gov ernment alleges. to fix prices arbitrarily. l The petition charges that for years the companies have violated the law and have oppressed competitors and ground them out of existence. Railroad rebates and csutoms frauds are mentioned as devices which were employed to raise the combine to the commanding position which it oc- oupies today.
 The present suit. which is estimated l will be in the courts for two years before a final adjudication is reached, is the re- suit of many weeks of preparation. Dis trict Attorney Wise made his investiga- | tions under the direction of Attorney Gen eral Wickersham and spent several days in Washington last week in conferring
 with the attorney general on the final plans.
 The suit is expected to range in impor-
 tance with those of the government
 against tie Standard oil company and
 the American Tobacco company. which are now pending in the supreme court.
 Opposed to the government in the strus- gle will be some of the most able cor poration lawyers of the country. James M. Beck, former assistant United States attorney general and now counsel for the American Sugar Refining company. will lead the attack on the governments position.
 Lengthy Document
 The governments petition is a lengthy one. occupying 22l printed pages and is a sweeping arragnment of the defendant | companies.
 One of the allegations is that the late H. o. Havemeyer of New York long head of the sugar combine, received Sl0,- 0O000o common stock of the National Sugar Refining company of New Jersey as gift at the time the corporation was | formed to take into the combine four n- dependent concerns.
 The government also alleges that when the American company took over four Philadelphia companies, including the Spreckles Sugar Refining company MT. Havemeyer and his brother, Theo- 1 dore Havemeyer. bought 45 per cent of the stock of the spreckles company and then sold 1t at large profit to 1 the American company, of which both I men were directors.
 | In general, the petition charges that | the defendants flor some time past have been and are now engaged in an | unlawful combination and conspiracy to restrain the trade and commerce among and between the several states and territories of the United States, 1 and with foreign nations in raw sugar sugar beets refined sugar, molasRes 1 syrups and other bi-products of raw sugar and sugar beets, and to monop4 olize the same Such unlawful com bination and conspiracy Is the result and outgrowth of a series of wrongful acts extending over a period of many years, and participated in by defend- ants respectfully in the manner and 1 to the extent hereinafter more fully set forth In participating in the vari- | ous acts, agreements and combinations 1 hereinafter described, all of the de- 1 fendants have been actuated by wrong l ful intent to restrain said interstate and foreign trade and commerce in raw land refined sugar and related articles and to monopolize parts thereof
 Unlawful Combination
 The government petitions the court to decree that the defendants have been engaged in unlawful combination and conspiracy to restrain and monop- olize trade; that the American Sugar l Refining company, the National Sugar 1 Refining company of New Jersey and the Western Sugar refining company is each in itself an unlawful combina- l tion in restraint of trade; that the shares of the capital stock of each de- l fendant corporation heretofore acquired | by any other corporate defendant were unlawfully acquired and that each such holder be enjoined from continuing to hold such shares; that the shares of capital stock in the National Sugar Re- 1 fining company, Utah-Idaho Sugar com pany, Great Western Sugar company 1 and Continental Sugar company, for merly held by the late H. c. Have 1 meyer, were unlawfully acquired by l him. that the defendants be enjoinea I from continuing to carry out the pul'- l poses of the unlawful combination and conspiracy. and be required to with- | draw all connection herewith: and l that the court grant such general re- lief as may be proper by way of in- l Junction, receivership or otherwise.T i One of the features of the lengthy pc tition of the government is the charge l that the American Sugar Refining com | panv has obtained unfair advantages 1 over competitors by obtaining money on 1 imports by customs frauds as was l brought out in the Eovernnlents recenr suits: by receiving rebates from rail-