Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1911-07-01
.|ND|CT FOURTEEN
lumbermen Charged With
F.. Conspiracy in Chicago.
TWO COUNTS IN EACH BILL
Secretaries Of Retail Associations
Charged With Controlling Sale
of Lumber in Violation Of
Sherman Law

Chicago, June 24.-The next trust tt
have a hearing in court will be the
Lumber Secretaries Bureau Of Infor
nation, comprising dealers organiza.
lions from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
A special United States grand jury
returned indictments against fourteen
secretaries for alleged violation of the
antitrust law.
Three secretaries in the organization
received immunity for testifying be
fore the grand jury
Each indictment is in two counts
The first charges conspiracy among
the retail lumber dealers to interfere
with and restrain trade between the
manufacturers and wholesalers AND
the consumers; the second count
charges conspiracy to suppress ano
eliminate the competition that should
exist between the wholesalers and the
retailers and the consumers.
List of Indicted.
Those indicted were:
Arthur l.. Holmes, Detroit, secretary
Michigan Lumber Dealers association
and editor of trade paper. The Scout
George p. Sweet, secretary of the
Michigan association.
willard G. Hollis. Minneapolis, sec
rotary of the Northwestern Lumber
mems association.
Harry A. Gorsuch, Kansas City, sec.
rotary of the Southwestern Lumber.
mems association.
Bert Critchfield, Lincoln. Neb., sec.
rotary of the Nebraska Dealers asso
citation.
e. E. Hall, secretary of the Nebras.
ka association.
Harry S. Scarce, Mooresville, Ind,
secretary of the Indiana Lumber Deal.
ers' association.
H. H. Hemenway, Denver, Colo, sec
rotary of the Colorado and Wyoming
association.
Louis ]. Heilman, also secretary OF
the Colorado and Wyoming associa.
ton.
H. S. Adams, Chillicothe. Ohio, sec.
rotary of the Union Association OF
Lumber Dealers and of the Ohio Asso
citation of Retail Lumber Dealers.
B. N. Hayward Columbus, o., also
secretary of the Ohio association.
A. l.. Porter, Spokane, Wash, secre
tary of the Western Retail Lumber
mems association.
R. p. Bransford, Union City, Tenn.
secretary of the Retail Lumber Deal
ers association.
A. C. Rightor, Pittsburg, Pa, Lum
Der Dealers Association of Pennsyl
vania.
The three who received immunity
for testifying were;
Paul Lachmund, Milwaukee, secre
tary Wisconsin association.
George W. Hotchkiss, Chicago, sec
rotary Illinois Lumber and Builders
Supply Dealers association and secre
tary of the Secretaries Bureau.
George Wilson Jones, secretary OF
the Illinois association.
Controlled Sale of Lumber.
The Lumber Secretaries Bureau OF
it was learned by the
grand jury, was incorporated in Hi
nois in 1905 Its membership was con
fined TO secretaries of retail lumber
dealers associations in all parts Of the
The aim of the alleged conspiracy
to the indictments, was not
to maintain prices or to prevent com
petition between the retail dealers
but to put a complete stop to the di-
rect sale of lumber by wholesalers to
consumers.
Violation of the Sherman act was
found not in any trust of capital, or
anything approaching a trust as the
term has been applied in recent litiga-
ton. Instead. according to the govern.
meut, ii was a so-called trust OF
power" alleged to have been manifest
ed in the secretaries of the retailers
This power. it is charg'
ed, was exercised by means of an al.
legged blacklist, said to have been
maintained " the secretaries bureau
This alleged blacklist, the government
charges, contained the names of such
and manufacturers as vic
lated the retailers rule forbidding the
direct sale to the consumer.
Mint Employe Crushed bv Gold.