Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-06-28
MAGAZINE TRUST ATTACKED
Periodical Clearing House Charged
with Conspiring to Restrain Trade.
EQUITY BILL FILED IN NEW YORK
Charges Fourteen Firms FIX Prices
for All Magazines by Threats
10 Boycott Agents and
80 Dealers.

k NEW YORK. June 3B--A civil suit was
filed in the United States court today for
the dissolution OF the Periodical Clearing
House and about score of other maya
zine defendants. The petition, filed by Dis
trict Attorney Wise. alleges unlawful COM
bination and conspiracy TO restrain inter-
state trade and foreign commerce In maga-
zine and other periodical publications.
The petition charges that the defendants
Illegal combination, q dissolution OF which
is asked for.
The proceeding in equity is against the
periodical clearing house Doubleday, Page
& Co., Crowell Publishing company s. s.
Mcclure company Current Literature
Publishing company. Phillips Publishing
company. Harper & Bros. Leslie-Judge
company. Review of Reviews company
International Magazine company New
! Publication company Butterick Publishing
company, Standard Fashion company, New
! Idea Publishing company Ridgeway COM
pany. American Home Magazine company
Short Stories company. limited (herein-
after referred to as defendant publishers); !;
Frank N. Doubleday. Herbert S. Houston
Frederick L. Collins. Charles d. Lanier
and George Won Utassy.
| Periodical Clearing House.
The periodical clearing house, in the petit
| tion. is described as corporation orga-
nized under the laws of the state Of New
| York, carrying on business throughout the
United States and foreign nations with it's
| officers and principal place of business
in this city. Its authorized capital stock
is OF the par value Of 5000, consisting of
twenty shares Of the par value OF 500 each.
of which fourteen are issued and outstand-
| ing.
The Suburban Press, a New York cor
poration Good Housekeeping. a Masschu-
| setts corporation, and HamptOn's Magazine,
| a New York corporation, together with the
defendants are the stockholders OF record
OF the defendant periodical clearing house;
Doubleday, Collins, Houston LAnier and
Won Utassy constitute It's board Of dreo-
tors, and Houston. Won UtAssy and LAnier
are respectively its president. vice presi-
dent and secretary and treasurer. These
officers of the periodical clearing house are
officials also OF one or other of the de-
fendant corporations engaged in the publi-
cation OF magazines.
Fixes Prices for Agents.
The petition recites that prior to July.
1909 there were upwards OF 5000 corpora
tions and individuals publishing and sell.
ing periodicals IN free competition, but fol-
lowing the organization OF the periodical
clearing house In July, 1909, notices wers
sent to subscription agencies and agents
notifying them that they would have to
sign the contract with the periodical clear
ing house. II such agencies intended &c
conduct further business With the mem
bers' Of said periodical clearing house"
The petition then recites that the period.
cal clearing house prepared a, so-called
official price list" of magazines and pert
odicals containing rules governing sales OF
subscriptions and the publishers whole
sale price list"
The petition continuesi
The contracts force upon the agents
and require them to sell all periodicals
not listed In the Aforesaid lists at thS
, regular publication price without any re
, duction whatsoever. The publishers Of
many OF the periodicals listed in said list
have been and are willing that the agen.
cies shall sell their periodicals 10 the pub
. lie. at prices less than those fixed by tn,
defendants IN said price lists. but sale
: agencies have been and are prevented b,
the aforesaid contracts from selling sucl
4 subscriptions at less than the prices fixes
r by the defendants and set for in saic
: Iists"
8 1t Is alleged that the clearing hous
had . system Of fines for offending agents