The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1911-12-09

manufacture and sale of chewing and
smoking tobacco and cigars. The
former one tin-foil company is d.
vided into two. one OF 3s25. 900 cap
ital and the other of 100000. The
one snun company ia divided into
three companies. one with q capital
Of s15.000.000; another with a cap
ital OF $4,000. 900; and a third with a
capital OF 3s.000.000. The licorice
companies are two. one with a cap
ital OF $5.75s.00 and another with a
capital OF 100000. There IL, also.
the British-American Tobacco COM
pany. British corporation. doing
business abroad with a capital OF
$26.000.000. the Porto Rican Tobac-
co company with capital Of
$l.S0O000. and the corporation Of
United Cigar Stores. with q capital
OF $4,000 900. Under this arrange
ment each of the different kinds of
business will be distributed between
two or more companies. with a d.
vision OF the prominent brands in the
same tobacco products. SO AZ to make
competition not only possible but
necessary. Thus the smoking tobac-
co business of the country Is divided
SO that the present Independent COM
panies have 21.39 per cent, while the
American Tobacco company will have
33.0S per cent. the Liggett and
Meyers 20.05 per cent. the Lorillard
company 22-S2 per cent, and the
Reynolds company 2.66 per cent. The
STOCK OF the other thirteen companies,
Doth preferred and common, has been
taken from the defendant American
TOBACCO company and has been dis
ulbuted among It's stockholders All
covenants restricting competition have
oeen declared null and further per
Iorh1ance Of them has been enioined.
Inc preferred stock OF the different
companies has now been given vot-
ing power which was denied It under
'he old organization. The ratio OF
the preferred stock to the common
was as IS to 40. This constitutes a
very decided change in the character
OF the ownership and control OF
each company.
In the original suit here were TWEEN
~ "uO were CDdTReU
with being the conspirators through
whom the illegal combination acquired
and exercised its unlawful dominion
Under the decree these defendants
will hold amounts of stock in the va
rious distributee companies ranging
from Al per cent. as maximum to
2S12 per cent. as a minimum except
in the case of one small company. the
Porto Rican Tobacco company, in
which they will hold As per cent The
twenty nine individual defendants are
enjoined for three years from buying
any stock except from each other.
and the group Is thus prevented from
extending its control during that pc
riod. All parties TO the suit. and the
new companies who are made parties.
are enjoined perpetually from in any
way efecting any combination be
tween any of the companies In viola
tion of the statute by way Of resump
tion OF the old trust. Each of the
fourteen companies Is enjoined from
acquiring stock In any OF the others.
All these companies are enjoined from
having common directors or officers.
or common buying or selling agents.
or common offices. or lending money
to each other
Size Of New Companies.
Objection was made by certain In
dependent tobacco companies that this
settlement was unjust because 1t left
companies with very large capital in
active business. and that the settle
ment that would be effective to put all
on an equality would be a division OF
the capital and plant Of the trust into
small factions in amount more nearly
equal to that of each Of the independ
ent companies. This contention re-
suits from a misunderstanding Of the
antitrust law and It's purpose. 1t Is
not intended thereby to prevent the
accumulation OF large capital In bust
ness enterprises in which suckea COM
bination can secure reduced cost of
production. sale and distribution. 1t
is directed against such an aggrega-
ton OF capital only when its purpose
is that OF sitting competition. enhanc-
ing or controlling prices and estab-
fishing monopoly, II We shall have
by the decree defeated these purposes
and restored competition between the
large units into which the capital and
plant have been divided we shall have
accomplished the useful purpose OF
the statute.
confiseatior Not the Purpose Of the
Statute.
| It is not the purpose OF the statute
to confscate the property and capital
OF the offending trusts. Methods Of
punishment by fine or Imprisonment
OF the individual offenders. by fine Of
| the corporation. or by forfeiture of its
goods in transportation. are provided.
| but the proceeding In equity is q spe-
| cific remedy to stop the operation OF