Omaha daily bee., 1910-11-29
Government Files Complaint in New
York Against American and Sew
eral Other Corporations.
ILLEGAL MONOPOLY IS CHARGED
Havemeyer Accused of Accepting Ten
Millions in Stock as Gift.
OF THE COMBINATION
Directors Buy Plants and Sell Them
to Company at Profit.
FULL CONTROL OF THE MARKETS
Company handles seventy-TwO Per
Cent Of the Refined sugar Used
in United states and is Able
TO Dictate Prices.

TO Dictate Prices.
! NEW YORK. Nov. 2S.-The federal gov
eminent today began one OF its most i'm
portant actions against great corporations
which are said to have violated the Sher-
man antitrust law. Henry a. Wise. United
states district attorney filed In the United
States district court for the southern dis
trict Of New York a petition asking for the
dissolution OF the American Sugar Refining
company and twenty-ninc other corpora
uons which compose the so-cslled Sugar
trust The petition charges Illegal
combination In restraint OF trade and asks
/ from the court relief in whatever form
may be necessary, including a receivershlp,
it the court deemed advisable.
! The companies composing the sugar COM
bine have an aggregate capitalization Of
$780, 100000 and control a large percentage
Of the output of sugar In this country. This
combination is able to fix prices arbitrarily.
The petition charges that for years the
companies have violated the Jaw and have
oppressed competition and ground them out
Of existence. Railroad rebates and customs
frauds are mentioned as devices which were
employed to raise the combination to the
| commanding position which II occupies to-
day.
VIII Take Two Years.
] The present suit which, II is estimated,
will be in the courts for two years before
a final adjudication Is reached, rs the re-
suit OF many weeks OF preparation. Dis
/ trict Attorney Wise made his investlRa-
tions under the direction of Attorney Cen
eral Wickersham and spent several days in
Washington last week in comforting with
the attorney general on the final plans.
The suit is expected TO rank In Importance
with those OF the government against the
Standard Oil company and the American
J Tobacco company which are now pending
in the supreme court
| Opposed to the government in the struggle
will be some OF the most able corporation
lawyers OF the country. James NJ Beok
former assistant United States attorney
general and now counsel for the American
Sugar Refining company, will lead the at
tack on the. governments position.
The filing Of the suit was a simple pro-
cess. The governments petition in printed
form, was handed to the clerk OF the dis
trict court by the district attorney.
Mr.. Beck said that the sugar combine
was not a monopoly, but that II Il ap-
peared, when the supreme court Interpreted
the Sherman law in the tobacco and oil
cases, that the sugar company was in any
respect violating the law, steps would be
taken Immediately to comply with the law
as thus interpreted.
Allegations in Petition.
The governments petition is a lengthy
one, occupying 2H printed pages, and is
sweeping arraignment OF the defendant
companies.
One OF the allegations is that the late
II. o. Havemeyer OF New York. for a long
time head of the sugar combine, received
flOoOoOOO common stock Of the National
Sugar Refining company OF New Jersey
as a gift at the time the corporation was
formed to take into the combine four in
dependent concerns-the National Sugar
Refining company, run by b. II. Howells,
Son Co.; the New York Sugar
Refining company OF Long Island city.
New York, operated by Claus Dosher; the
Mollenhauer Sugar Refining company Of
Brooklyn, and the w. j. McCahan Sugar
Refining company Of Philadelphia.
Formation of National Company.
These companies up to 1900 were inde-
pendent and II is said, the American com
pany was determined to acquire them.
Urder a plan inaugurated by Mr.. Have.
meyer, John E. Parsons and James II.
Post, the National company was formed
and took over the four plants Mr.. Post
} obtaining options on them When the new
stock was delivered, the petition sets forth,
Post delivered 10000 shares OF common
, stock the entire Issue, with a par value
Of $lO0OOOOO, to Mr.. Havemeyer The pc
tition says that these shares were issued
I'm the first instance contrary 10 law in
violation OF the corporation franchise and
for no consideration, as both said Post and
Hayemeyer then well knew"
The government also alleges that the
American company took over four Phila-
dephia companes-the Franklin Sugar Re
filming company, the Spreckels Sugar Re
filming company the Delaware Sugar
House and the e. c. knight company-Mr.
Hevemeyer and his brother, Theodore
Havemeyer, bought 45 per cent OF the
stock Of the spreckels company, and then
sold it at a large profit to the American
company, Of which both were directors
Unlawful Conspiracy Charged.
In general the petition charges that the
defendants FOR some time past have been.
and are now engaged in an unlawful COM
binauon and conspiracy to restrain the
trade and commerce among and between
the several states and territories OF the
United States and with foreign nations ia
raw sugar, sugar beetg, refined sugar,
molasses, syrups and other by-products OF
raw sugar and sugar beets. and 10 monop-
} olize the same. Such unlawful combination
and conspiracy Is the result and Outgrowth
Of a series OF wrongful acts extending over
a period Of many years and participated In
by defendants, respectively. IN the manner
and 10 the extent hereinafter more fully
set forth. In participating In the various
acts, agreements and combinations herein
after described all Of the defendants have
been actuated by wrongful intent to re-
strain said interstate and foreign trade aud
commerce In raw and refined sugar and re-
lated articles. and TO monopOlze parts
thereof"
what Government Asks
The government petitions the court 70
decree:
That the defendants have been engaged
i1 unlawful combination and conspiracy 10
restrain and monopolize trade. and that
their Officers directors, stockholders.
agents end employees be perpetually en-
Joined from doing any act 10 carry out the
purposes OF such unlawful combination.
That the court adiudge that the AmerI-
can sugar Refining company, the National