The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-12-07
dependen, companies haze al.3a per

p1ny VIII AAve ..S.t;S per cen. lie t-lS-
gett & Meyers 20.05 per cent. thu Loril-
lard company 222.S2 Per cent and The
Reynolds company 2.tii per cent. The
stock of the either thirteen companies.
both preferred and common. has been
taken from the defendant American
Tobacco company and has been DIS
tributed among its stockholders All
covenants restricting competition have
been declared Eull AMI farther per
formance Of them has her.i enjointst.
The preferred stock nf tie different
compa Mes has now been given voting
power which WIS denlt d !; untirr he.
old organiZation fhr ratio OF the pre-
ferred stock IA the t"',ilIiInu WAS ;t$ ~
10 40 This ,nnSt .tu.eS Il very Ge,.td Il
change i'm The character of the owper
ship and control of each company
In the original suit there We're TWEEN
ty-nine defendants. who were charged
with being the consDiratorS through
whom the illegal combination acquired
and exercised its uni:I wfu dominion.
Under the decree these defendants will
hold amounts of stock in the various
diStributee companies ranging from Il
per cent as a maximum To 2Sls per
cent as minimum. except in the c;iSr'
of one small company. the Porto Ri''an
Tobacco company. in which they will
hold 40 per cent. The twenty nine in
dividuai defendants are enjOined for
three years from buying any stock ex-
cept from each other. and the group is
thus prevented from extending its con
troll during that period. All parties to
the suit and the new companies who
are made parties are enioincd perpet-
ually from in any way effecting any
combination between any Of the com
panieS in violation of the statute by
way of resumption of the old trust.
/ Each of the fourteen companies is en-,
! joined from acquiring stock in any of
the others All these compa MES are
enjoined from having common direc-
tors 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 it 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 he division OF
the capital and plant of the trust into
small fractions in amount more near
ly equal to that of each of the indie
! pendent companies. This contention
results from a misunderstanding OF
the antitrust law and its purpose. Ii
is not intended thereby to prevent the
accumulation of large capital in bust
ness enterprises in which such a com
bination can secure reduced cost OF
production. sale and distribution. II
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 liSh
ing monopoly. If we shall have by
the decree defeated these purposes
and restored competition between the
large units into which the capital anG
plant have been divided we shall have
accomplished the useful purpose OF
the statute.
Confiscation Not the Purpose Of tn.
Statute.
1t is not the purpose Of the statute
to confiscate the property and capita
of the offending trusts. Methods OF
punishment by fine or Imprisonment
of the individual offenders. by fine Of
the corporation or by forfeiture of it:
goods in transportation are provided
but the proceeding in equity is spe
cific remedy to stop the operation o.
the trust by injunction and proven
the future use of the plant and capita
in violation of the statute.
Effectiveness of Decree.
venture TO say that not in the his
tory Of American law has a decree
more effective for such a purpose beer
entered by court than that agains
the tobacco trust AS Circuit Judg,
Moves said in his judgment approvin:
the decree:
''The extent to which it has bee,
necessary TO tear apart this combina
ton and force it into new forms Will
strate that the federal antitrust statute
is a drastic statute which accomplishe
effective results. which so long as i
stands on the statute books must b,
obeyed and which cannot be disobey
ed without mourning farreaching pen
alties. And, on the other hand. tn,
successful reconstruction of this or
ganization should teach that the effec
Of enforcing this statute is not to de
strOy. but to reconstruct: not to de
mOlish, but to recreate in accordanc,
with the conditions which the congress
has declared shall exist among thu
people of the United States"
Common Stock Ownership.
1t has been assumed that the pres
ent pro rata and common ownership il
all these companies by former stock
holders of the trust would insure
continuance of the same old single con
troll of all the companies into which
the trust has by decree been disinte
grated. This is erroneous and is base(
upon the assumed inefficacy and innoc
uousness of judicial injunctions TIL,
companies are enjoined frbm co-opera
ton or combination: they have differ