The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-07
TOBACCO TRUST SUIT
 VERY IMPORTANT Has Been in Court a Long - Time
 TO DISSOLVE THE TRUST Government Charges American TObac- co Company With Using Unfair
 and Fraudulent Means to ,N
 Create Monopoly
TO DISSOLVE THE TRUST

Washington, January 6.-The final contest over the dissolution of the American Tobacco corporation began in the supreme court today. .-
 J. c. Reynolds, special attorney to the United States, made the opening address to the court on behalf of the government. He was followed by De- lancey Nicoll, one of the half dozen or more attorneys representing thes so- called tobacco trust.' 'i'7-
 The suit was brought by tho government against the American, To- bacco company, its officers. directors and affiliated corporations for thespur- pose of seeking to prevent and ret strain monopolies in tobacco, and re- lated commodities alleged to be con ducted in violation of the sherman antitrust law, and certain provisions of the Wilson tariff act
 Originally the suit was filed by the government in the. United States cir cult court for the Southern New York district, July 10, 1907. In May 1908. 1t was argued before Circuit Court Judges I.acombe, Cox, Moves and Ward November ', 1908, the court handed down it's decision, three judges con curing and one dissenting. The de- cision dismissed the petition as to the individual defendants. the United Cigar Stores company the Imperial Tobacco company and the British American To- bacco company and its subsidiaries, but adiudged the other defendants, parties to combinations in restraint of trade and entoined them; adjudged the Amer lcan Cigar company, the American Stogie company. and MacAndrews Ss Forbes unlawful combinations and en : Joined them from interstate. commerce. It also adjudged the American To- bacco company, American Snuff com pany. American Cigar company P. LoriIlard company, K. J. Reynolds To- bacco company. Blackwell's Durham Tobacco company and the Conley Foil company as holding shares in cor porations of the alleged trust, and en- Joined them from acquiring tobacco plants or business or voting shares of and exercising control over the iss suing companies. It further enjoined the issuing companies from permitting control one of another, through owner- ship of stocks. M 2.
 Cross Appeals Filed
 Cross appeals were filed by the gov ernment and the defendants, and the case was sent to the supreme court of the United States, where 1t was docketed December 23. 19os'
 As the tobacco trust case went to the United States supreme court It consisted of two cases. One was that of the government, appellant, vs. the American Tobacco company and oth- CTS and the other, that of the Amer ican Tobacco company and others, ap- nellants. vs. the government Neither the government nor the American To bacoo company was satisfied with the decision of the. circuit court for the Southern district of New York. though the decision on the whole was a de- cided victory for the government. ,s, Attorney General Wickersham, in re- viewing the findings of the New York court, made objections to portions of the decision. [, It was his contention that the petltion filed by the, government should moi have been dismissed by the court as concerning the individuals, and that the court wrongfully dismissed the petition as to the Imperial Tobacco company. the British American Tobacco company, and domestic corporations controlled by the latter, on the ground that every act done in pursuance of the contracts effected be- tween English and American companies in September, 1902, within the United States, should have been declared unlawful. Fiir- ther 1t vas contended by MT. Wickersham that the governments petition as to the alleged participation of the United Cigar Stores company should not have been dis missed by the lower court. And finally h. declared, the decree of the court was l incomplete in that the defendants were not adjudged parties to unlawful con l tracts and cohspiracies
 W Important Case ''s' ,-s
 | rh.t the case Is one of the largest with which the department of justice ha . had to deal within the past few years can be gathered from the standpoint oi the capital. of the companies involved Tbere are e5 corporations defendants. the ,s rv.st eight of which have a capital of
 rrore .than $aoo 10000. Most of the com M nies were incorporated in New Jersey;
 two are in Great Britain. The corpora lions with their capital are: The Amer lican Tobacco company, SIS, ,93l BOO Inn I perial Tobacco company of Great Britain, | seQ 0000o0; Havana Tobacco company. $35. | 0o0,00o: the American snuff company, $25.- I0io,Ooo; American Cigar company. $2o,00Q.- sC0o; American stogie company, S11.s56. coo;