The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-30
Frank ]. Gould, William P. Palmer and Other PrOmi-
 nent Men Defendants
TRADE AGREEMENT IN RESTRAINT OF
 TRADE IS CHARGED
Merger of Properties or Interests Not Claimed, But Averment Says Series of Pools Has Main
 tained Prices

New York, June 29.-Nine indictments charging restraint of trade in violation of the sherman anti-trust law were re- turned by a. federal grand jury here this afternoon against as many asso- citations and a long list of individuals comprising the so-called wire trust, affiliated with the steel industry. Prom inent among the defendants are Her bert l. Satterlee. a son-in-law of J. Pierpont Morgan, and William P. Pal mer president of the American steel and Wire company. a subsidiary of the United States Steel corporation, anu Frank Gould of. New York, president of the Old Dominion Iron and Nail Works company.
 What this suit charges" said Dis trict Attorney Wise. 'is a trade agree ment in restraint of trade The government does not seek to es- tablish a physical or fiscal merger Of the properties or interests indicted but series of pools to maintain prices and apportion territory. in elamination of |, competition, and so in violation of the sherman act. aid Thus the suit appears as aep-lrther effort of the government to deaf'rigor ously with restrictive trade agree ments The suits against the Periodical Clearing house this week, and against the box and paper manufacturers earl fer are cases in point There is no indication that evidence gathered by the bureau of corpora tions in it's investigation of the Steel corporation played any part in the ln- dictments Only two of the indicted associations are subsidiary companies ts. Rl.Ixr la.a American Steel and Wire company and the Trenton Iron company. The most prominent individual defendants and full list of the associations in, which they are members follow: Individuals
 Individual Defendants
 Frank J. Gould, president of the Old Dominion Iron and Nail works Belle Isle, Richmond. Va
 Herbert L. Satteree. president of the Iabirshaw Wire company, Yon- kers. N Y. William P. Palmer. president of the American Steel and Wire scompany, yNyeniepgau. 1il.. and Worcester. Mass. |4 Charles f7 Brooker. vice president of 'tthe Ansonia Brass and Copper company, P f)Ansonia, Conn, and member from Con necticut of the republican national com mittee.
 Harry c. Stoddard, president of the Trenton Iron company, Trenton. N. J.
 Erskine Hewlett, vice president of the Trenton Iron company.
 Frank N. Phillips, president of the |, American Electrical works, Phillipsdale, R. I.
 Ferdinand w. Roebling, president of John A. Roebling Sons company, Trenton and Roebling, N. J.
 Phillip H. W. Smith, second vice presi- dent of the Standard Underground Ca ole company. Pittsburg, Pa, Oakland, Cal, and Perth Amboy, N. J.
 Associations Named
 Associations:
 The Horseshoe Manufacturers assocla- tion, William P. Palmer and others.
 Bare Wire Copper association, William F, Palmer and others
 Waterproof and Wire Magnet associa- tion, William P. Palmer and others.
 Lead Encased Rubber Cable associa- tion, William P. Palmer and others.
 Wire Rope Manufacturers association, Edwin E. Jackson. Jr., and others.
 Fine Magnet Wire Association, Ferdin- and w. Roebling and others Underground Power Cable association, Phillip H. w. Smith and others.
 Telephone Cable association. Frank N. Phillips and others.
 Rubber Covered Wire association, Will liam P. Palmer and others
 The general charges in all the indict- ments are the same allowing for the diff ference of the business in which the de- fendants were engaged. Thus one indic,- Inent reads:
 Because said corporation, at all such times have been and in fact now are separate and distinct from each other their said interstate business should have been conducted by each strictly on a com pettive basis, and would be so conducted htl fn1 ha ,t111.t f,tl after mentioned
 Arbitrary Rating
 It is set forth that the various associa- tions organized under their association names and each elected a supervisor. and adopted rules and regulations. An arbi- trary rating was determined it is charged, by the ratio of output for an agreed tinle each member was obliged to pay $5000 or less into fund called ''the general deposit and in case any member failed to abide by the regulations, his deposit was forfeited
 Raw materials were bought, . is al- leged in one indictment "at arbitrary and Don-competitive prices to be agreed upon by said defendants. being prices lower than those for which the respective cor porations would be enabled to purchase said raw materials, but for the unlawful conspiracy herein described"
 In the indictment against the Bare Copper Wire association it is charged . that the corporations forming the asso- f citation produced 95 per cent of the entire bare copper wire constimed in the United States and that they had absolute con trol of the price.
 s Punished By Imprisonment
 Upon conviction each of the defend- ants is liable to not more than years Imprisonment a fine of S5OOO or both.
 In the indictments neither the American Steel and Wire company nor the John A. Roeblings Sons company, also known as the Trenton Iron Works, are designa ted as belonging to the United States Steel corporation.
 When William P. Palmer. head of the American Steel aid Wire company was informed of hls indictment, he said:
 This is all news to me. I have noth- ing to say
 At the office of J. P. Morgan x Co Thomas W. Lamont, one of the members of that firm. said he had no knowledge concerning any of the associations men tioned in the indictment.
 He further said that no one connected with the firm knew anything about the federal proceedings. and therefore could not discuss the matter.
 Frank ]. Gould Is in Europe In his ss~~~~->--~-~~-~~~~-~-~>~
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