The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-05-30


preme court greatly changes or the
Sherman antitrust law is amended.
In reality the decision was nothing
less than a deliberate exemplncatloll
of the application of the rule OF rea-
son,i 70 "nndisputed facts" From the
date of the organization of the nrst
combination the court found that there
was a purpose to acquire dominion anu
control of the tobacco trade not py
the mere exertion of the ordinary rlsill
to contract and to trade, but the meth
ods devised in order to monopolize the
trade by driving competitors out OIL
business. III
This purpose was carried out ruth
lessIv according to the court upon the
assumption that to work upon tne ne
theory or play upon the cuploIey %
sible Such action viewed in the hght
az reason' was regarded by the court
as violative of the law.
Hits All the Companies.
On practically every point on when
the American Cigar company, the
American Stogie company MacAnoreWSS
& Forbes company and the Conley Fol
company were named as accessory Ue
PENDANTS"
The SO other American corporations
were denominated the subsidiary de-
PENDANTS" The two English corpora
lions. the Imperial Tobacco company
and the British-American Tobacco COM
pany, as well as the 29 individual de-
PENDANTS headed by James b. LUKE
remained unclassified.
The "undisputed facts" were divided
into two periods, the one being from
the time of the organization of the hrst'
or old American Tobacco company, IN
1890. to the organization OF the CONT
mental Tobacco company IN 1898, ana
the other being from the date of that
organization to the beginning of the
case under review.
The chief of the justices dwelt at
length upon the organization of the OLD
American Tobacco company in Janu-
ary $780, Just before the Sherman anti
trust law was passed. He described
the organization of the American To-
bacco company to carry on the business
Of FIVE distinct concerns which, at the
time, were manufacturing 80 per cent
of the domestic cigarettes produced in
the United States. Prior to the Or
ganization, the chief justice said. the
i've concerns had been engaged in
fierce and abnormal competition.
History of Trust.
He told with much detail how the
American Tobacco company expanded.
BY the end of 1891 he said, the COM
pany had become a factor in all branch
es of the tobacco business. Specific in
stances OF COnITdCLSs D6lIB eHLeTGO l1lO
to prevent persons who sold out to the
American Tobacco company from re-
entering the tobacco business for 10 to
20 years, were cited. The expansion
proceeding, he said, the American To-
bacco company acquired between 1891
and 1898, Is growing concerns doing
business in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mary
land, Michigan, Missouri New York,
North Carolina and Virginia.
There is no dispute" says the chief
Justice, that as early as 1893 the pres
ident of the American Tobacco COM
many by authority of the corporation,
approached leading manufacturers of
=. combination of the plug tobacco in
terests and upon the failure to accom-
DIish them ruinous competition ensued.
company sustained severel losses, ag-
Eregating more than A0O0000.
"The warfare produced it's natural re-
suit, not only because the company ac-
ouired during the last two years of
troll of important plug tobacco concerns
hut others engaged in that Industry
came to terms. We say this because. in
1895, in connection with several leading
plug manufacturers. the American TO-
bacco company organized a New Ter
sew corporation, styled the Continental
Tobacco company, for trade and man
ufacturing,' with a capital of SIS 600 OOO
afterward increased to 100000. 900 F."
The new company issued its stock
the chief justice said. and took trans
fers to the plants, assets and businesses