The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1910-04-13

they constituted a combination con-
trary to the law, and while an injunc-
ton against these combinations was
granted there was no pronouncenlent
on the subject of monopoly, which
the government had especially sought
to obtain.
The bill as to the United Cigar
Stores Company, a domestic corpora
ton, was dismissed, as were also the
bills against the Imperial and British
American Companies, English co.,
porations and their subordinate Amer
lean concerns, notwithstanding the
contention by the government that
the Cigar Stores Company was the
retail instrument of the trust in this
country and the English companies,
the foreign divisions of it.
The dismissal in the case of the
Cigar Stores Company was due to .
failure on the part of the circuit
court to find that there had been any
exercise of control over it by the trust
restricting the freedom of trade, and
in the cause of the two foreign coz
porations to the circumstances that
the contract for the distribution CT
foreign business was made in England
Disregarding the plea of the govern
mn on the point of monopoly. the CIR
cult court adjudged the American To-
bacco Com pany and many of the sub
ordinate general companies to be
parties to an unlawful combinations
to be each in itself an unlawful COM
bination, and each to be a holder of
shares in other companies. The.
were enjoined generally from contin-
uing in the combination or from do
ing anything in furtherance of it
from engaging in interstate and for
eign commerce, and from acquiring
the plants or business or eXercisinE.
control over issuing companies. The
issuing companies also were enioinen
against permitting such control. The
bills against the officials of the va
rious companies who were included
in the original complaint were ois-
missed.
Both the gOvernm ent and the tobac-
co companies appealed the case to
the Supreme Court-the former be
cause OF the failure to include all the
defendants in the prohibition and also
because of the limited scope of the
verdict as to the others. and the COM
panies. on the general ground that
there should have been no verdict at
all against them.
The argument of the case in the Su-
preme Court consumed three times -
much time as Is ordinarily allowed
for the presentation of cases. The
government, which was represented IL
the hearing by Attorney General
Wickersham and Special Assistant
Attorney Nneral McReynolds, made
the most sweeping charges concerning
the combination. They sought es-
pecially to have the exempted or
CARNATIONS included in the prohibi-
ton. declaring that the Imperial COM
pany and the British American COM
pany had been so manipulated as t.
provide for complete monopoly an2
division of the tobacco business of
the world. An effort also was made
to have the verdict of the lower court
so extended as to have the entire com
bination declared a monopoly in re-
straint of trade. On behalf of the
companies it was contended that no
effort had been made by them to re-
strict the production of tobacco or to
work hardship to independent to-
bacco dealers.
1t was charged by the government
that ever since 1902 there has been an
apportionm ent of the tobacco business
of the world between the American
company and the Imperial company
and a practical monopoly Of most of
the important branches Of the busi-
ness. The British American company
was alleged to be an outgrowth Of
this arrangement, that company hav-
ing been organized by the other two
to carry on the business outside of the
United States and Great Britain. 1t
was especially commended that no
Judgment would be effective that -
not prohibit the continued operation
even as purchasers in the United
States.