The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1910-12-05
OBSERVATIONS.
In business 10 months.
Cleaned up a million dollars.
Fined $4,000.

In business 10 months.
Cleaned up million dollars.
Fined $4,000.
Busted
Net profit: 100000.
This. in brief is the history OF the
late lamented window glass trust.
The Imperial Window Glass Co
began business on Jan. l, 1910. 1t was
selling agency controAing nearly Sc
glass factories and handling more than
than 80 per cent of all the window
! glass manufactured In this country.
The Imperial company lost no time
! in getting busy. BY Oct. /. 1910, ac
cording TO the testimony OF the de
! partment of justice, prices had Deen
! advanced 20 per cent above the leve
| that prevailed in April, 1909. In lC
months 1t cleared about a million dol
/ lars. or 400 per cent on its capitalize
ton.
The combine, in the words OF Atty.
Gen. Wickersham. was "one OF the
most fragrant and intentional viola
. tions OF the antitrust law that has
been brought To the attention Of the
/ department.
So the department necessarily got
/ busy also and busted" the trust The
federal court at Pitsburg went so far
as to fine the company the enormous
sum OF 81 500. and each OF the Is mem.
bers OF he company $500. The com
panv loudly protested its innocence
of intentional wrongdoing, yet curious.
enough. made no defense 10 the charge
brought against IL.
What is a court TO do when a trust
at once protests its innocence and
confesses its guilt?
A cruel and inconsiderate Judge
would probably send somebody to Jail.
The Pittsburg judge was neither
cruel nor inconsiderate. He took in
10 consideration the fact that the
trust had been dissolved And Is Il
not more horrible punishment than
going TO jail 10 be made 70 relinguish
graft yielding as much as a million
dollars in 10 months? The Pittsburg
Judge must have thought so. Anyhow
he gave the glass magnates n So.
600 slap on the wrist and went on
to say. in effect. that the fines while
light. should not be taken as an evil
dence OF the governments attitude
against such offenses, as IL was regard
ed as "a mos serious case"
Serious Is right. Ii Is serious.
When a group OF men can form a trust
clear a million dollars i'm 10 mont rs.
and get of with a picayune fine OF $40.
0OO--it's serious indeed. II demon
strates again the practicabillty Of de
liberate violation of the Sherman law.
II shows how easy il is TO form a
trust and get away with it--how sim
pie IL Is 10 make hay while the sun
shines-that while the ponderous
machinery OF justice is getting start.
ed-then meeEly pay a little fine
dissolve amt divide the swag
And now that the window glass
trust has been dissolved? Lower
prices. perhaps
Not so You can notice. Lower
wages though. Plants have been clos
ell down. There Is talk Of a 80 per
cent cut in wages with the drawing OF
many more fires az the alternative
The individual manufacturers must
needs make up the $500 he dronned
In the little game of daring the dep .rt.
ment 10 come ON.
The plants involved In the ImperiaI
company MAKE hand-blown glass. Now
comes the American Window Glass
Co. the country's biggest producer OF
machine-blown glass. and cheerfully
comments upon the dissolution OF it's
rival by issuing a new schedule OF
/ GENERAL ADNANCii IN PRICES.
What's the answer?
No answer Only q comment:
THOU SHALT NOT STEAL