Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1911-12-07


cent. while the American Tobacco com
pany will have 33.0s per cent. the Lig-
gett & Meyers zoos per cent. the Loril'
lard company 22.S2 per cent and the
Reynolds company 2G6 per cent. The
stock of the other thirteen companies,
both preferred and common, has been
taken from the defendant American
Tobacco company and has been dis
tributed among its stockholders. All
covenants restricting competition have
been declared null and further per-
Torrance OF them has been enjoined.
The preferred stock of the different
companies has now been given voting
power which was denied IL under the
old organization. The ratio Of the pre-
to 40. This constitutes very decided
change in the character Of the owner
ship and control of each company.
In the original suit there were TWEEN
ty-nine defendants. who were charged
with being the conspirators through
whom the illegal combination acquired
and exercised its unlawful dominion.
Tic utCIee tHtSt VIII
hold amounts Of stock in the various
distributee companies ranging from 4
per cent as a maximum to 2S1l per
cent as q minimum. except in the case
of one small company. the Porto Rican
Tobacco company. in which they will
hold 45 per cent The twenty-nine in
dividual defendants are enjoined for
three years from buying any stock ex-
cept from each other, and the group is
thus prevented from extending its con
troll during that period. All parties to
the suit and the new companies who
are made parties are enjoined perpet-
ually from in any way effecting any
combination between any of the com
panies in violation of the statute by
way of resumption of the old trust.
Each of the fourteen companies is en-
Joined from acquiring stock in any of
the others. All these companies are
enjoined from having common direc-
tors or officers. or common buying or
selling agents. or common offices, or
lending morsey to each other.
Size of New Companies.
Objection was made by certain in
dependent tobacco companies that this
settlement was unjust because it left
companies with very large capital in
active business and that the settle
ment that would be effective TO put all
on an equality would be a division OF
the capital and plant of the trust into
small fractions in amount more near
ly equal to that Of each of the indie
pendent companies. This contention
results from misunderstanding of
the antitrust law and its purpose. II
is not intended thereby to prevent the
| accumulation of large capital in bust
| ness enterprises in which such com
| bination can secure reduced cost of
production. sale and distribution. II
| is directed against such an aggrega.
ton of capital only when its purpose
is that Of sitting competition. enhanc
| ing or controlling prices and establish
| ing q monopoly. If we shall have, by
| the decree defeated these purposes
| and restored competition between the
| large units into which the capital and
| Z
accomplished the useful purpose OF
the statute.
Confiscation Not the Purpose of tn.
Statute.
II is not the purpose of the statute
to confiscate the property and capita
! Of the offending trusts Methods OF
| punishment by fine or Imprisonment
Of the individual offenders. by fine OF
the corporation or by forfeiture of its
goods in transportation are provided
but the proceeding in equity is a spe
cifc remedy to stop the operation OF
the trust by injunction and prevent
the future use of the plant and capita
in violation of the statute.
Effectiveness Of Decree.
I venture to say that not in the his
tory Of American law has a deere,
more effective for such purpose beer
entered by a court than that agains
the tobacco trust. AS Circuit Judg,
Noyes said In his judgment approvin:
the decree:
1.-THE extent to which ii has beer
necessary to tear apart this combina
ton and force 1t into new forms will
the attendant burdens ought to demon
strate that the federal antitrust statut,
is drastic statute which accomplishe
effective results, which so long as
stands on the statute books must b.
obeyed and which cannot be disobey
ed without mourning farreaching pen
alties. And, on the other hand. tn
successful reconstruction Of this OF
ganization should teach that the effec
OF enforcing this statute is not to de
stroy, but to reconstruct; not to de
molish, but to recreate in accordanc
with the conditions which the congress
has declared shall exist among tn
people of the United States"
Common Stock Ownership.
II has been assumed that the pres
ent pro rata and common ownership 1
all these companies by former stocl
holders Of the trust would insure
continuance Of the same old single cor
troll Of all the companies into whic
the trust has by decree been disintt