The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-07
MacAndrews 6 rorbes companx ,7.oooooo

MacAndrews & Forbes company, $7,00O,O00, and the United Cigar Stores company. $1, ,650.000. All of these are charged by the government with being parties to contracts, agreements, combinations, and conspiraces in restraint of interstate and foreign commerce in tobacco and. its products.
 The magnitude of the American tobacco business may be judged from the fact that in this country S00,0000o0 pounds of the weed are grown annually The manu- facture of this, in addition to the impor- tations of tobacco, it's manufacture into various forms and the sale of its prod ucts constitutes an enormous business
 It was James B. Duke and several other tobacco princes who in 1890 organized the original American Tobacco company. The story of how that company has fought it's way into the control of the greater share of the tobacco business of tho country in less than two decades, beating down it's rivals, Is one of the romances of American industrial history. Ii was done. in the language of Attorney, General Wickersham, by .'duress and wicked and unfair methods 7 To this charge, however, the American Fobaeeo company took exception, as we'll as to other charges against it in re- straint of trade and monopoly. It ad- mitted the organization of various com- panies, the purchase by them of plants and businesses, and the general unifica- tion of tobacco interests through eonsol- idations and acquisitions of stock. Strong denial, however, was made of any intent on the part of the American Tobacco company to destroy competition, or to ac- Quire monopoly of the tobacco busi- ness of the United States or Great Brit ain. It was declared that no purchase was made to remove the competitions of I. American Tobacco company was selling, but that factories and business were bought for investment with a view of their present and ultimate. profitable ness, all, it was stated, being permitted by state charters where the various cor porations known as the American To- baoco company were incorporated,
 sseis Rulings of Court i';sNI
 1Fttssass fditkei' declared in court that the various companies. majority of whose stock Is held by some other company, arec either contracted as branches of the owner. the separate organization being preserved for the trade purposes, or that they are managed by minority stockhold- CTS, and are controlled by and in active com petition with the owning companies. and with each other, and that interstate and foreign commerce. consequently. had not been restrained or rnonopolized
 fOii cDiudTy I, I5bS, q nOliOn Wa8 made by the government in the United States supreme court to advance the case for hearing. Argumnet was set for Octo- Der Il. 1909, and on that date the case was reassigned for hearing December l3 1909. Owing to the large number of cases before the court the case was again reassigned for January 3, 1910. when it was laid before the court In the fol- lowing April the court of it's own motion restored the case to the docket to be reargued. The cases then went over until the fall of 1910.
 The deaths Of Justice Brewer and Chief Justice Fuller. and the resignation of Justice Moody, caused another postpone ment of the case until the President could fill the vacancies. Justice liar land acting as chief justice,' announced that the supreme court would hear the arguments in the case on January 3, 1911. Ii is doubtful if there has been cnse before the 7cuort since the Northern Se- curities case in which more intense in- terest has been manifested in business and financial circles. On the decision in this case and that of the Standard .4i case. depends to a great extent the course of the federal government with respect to prosecutions of alleged Illegal corpora tons. and the course of Congress with respect to legislation for the control of all corporations. is'n xss sA -s