The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-09

the s,lrreme court was ssolicitious of
 avoiding, and I think It intended that
 we should recognize the problem pre-
 sented to us as very practicable one to be disposed of in a practical way" His opinion adds:
 "raking up the plan we know at
 the outset that 1t is an honest one. It has been built up almost in our presence, and whatever question there
 may be as to it's merits there Is none
 of the good faith of its authors" Judge Coxe says that the consider ation which had the greatest weight with him was the fact that no one haG proposed a better plan, the only alternative being the appointment of
 a receiver. He said he agreed with the attorney general that such. a. calamity should be avoided except as a last re-
 sort.
 And I am by no means convinced" he said, that 1t would not produce the very evil which this action was insti-
 tuted to destroy" .s m
 Assistant United States District At torney Addison Pratt pointed out that the only way an appeal can be brought 1 before the supreme bench is through a writ of certiorarf. He thought that such a writ would be granted if applied for because the proceedings were novel 1 in the tobacco case and the higher
 
 up all possible objections that nigh. be raised to the action of the circuit | court.
 | Ira Morris, president of the Indepen1- enr Tobacco Salesmens association, de- clarcd that he believed the American Tobacco company would continue in control of the tobacco trade just as | effectually as if the government suit had never been brought"
 Iii financial circles the greatest inn portance attaches to the attitude of the court in the tobacco case and pre- dictions had been made that approval would be given the plan. Largely on
 account of this confidence the prices | of stocks had advanced substantially | during the past week.
 | The attitude of the court gained i.n- | portance in the eyes of the financial dis | trict from the fact that it is expected | the plan would give definite indication of 1 the standards to which corporations might
 be expected to comply. It was pointed | out that if it were possible to reorganize l the American Tobacco company satisfac- torily, the outcome of the dissolution suits recently filed against the United States Steel corporation of similar suits, which may be undertaken against other large corporations, need not be feared in the financial world
 History of Suit The decision of the United States cir cult court today is the continuation of the long litigation over the dissolution of the American Tobacco company and it's subsidiary concerns. The prosecution by the United States government &C., cusing Gthe company of violation of the
 Sherman antitrust law, was begun in 1907 under the direction of former At torney General Bonaparte.
 The suit was instituted in the circuit court for the southern district of New York in July of that year.
 The government declared the combina-
 ton controlled 75 per cent of the do- mestic business, 80 per cent of the snuff business. 95 per cent of licorice and 80 per cent of the tin foil business of the country.
 The decision of the circuit court in November, 1908, was adverse to the com panies.
 Later the hearing and decision be- fore the United States supreme court con- stituted one of the most notable branches of the trust litigation of recent years. The supreme court held the corporations
 and individual defendant in the suit to
 be in restraint of trade and an attempt of monopolization and directed the cir cult court for the southern district in New York to hear the parties for the purpose of devising some plan of dis solving the combination and creating out of the elements composing it, a new con- dition in harmony with the law. l The plan in general proposed disinte- gTegation by distributing by way of divl-
 dends to the stockholders securities of
 the, companies held by defendant com panies; the formation of four large and Iseparate concerns to be competitive in 1 the market, and selling thereto the prop erty and business of the American To- ! md ttoti <,f ! trols of 29 individual defendants consti- ltuting men of the concern. It is the re- | suit of this proposition with many other counter propositions and notifications that the final decision of the court was l given today.
 | The American Tobacco company was | incorporated with an authorized capital
 stock of $sD,oOo,Ooo in 6 per cent and | $100 0000,0O0 common.