The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-16
Letters Confiscated

Drake did not leave Texas on account of any trouble he had with the state over his connection with the lumber business. After he departed the attorney general of Texas ransacked Drake's office, found the letters and forwarded them to John M Atkinson, attorney general of Mis- souri, W ho is conducting the lumber pros ecution
 Referring to the failure of the South western Lumbermen's association to in- clude penalties in It's bylaws, Gorsuch, in a letter to Drake on May 15, 1903, said
 "A number of our members have asked me what we propose to do since we wiped out all penalties and obligations. and l have answered all of them that every dealer in lumber who is a member of tfe association has been In business long enough to know just what the object of the association Is, and othat we propose to protect our members in the same old way as we have been doing and that It is not necessary to put it down In black and white in our constitution and by
 laws. I have found them all satisfied with the change and feel a great deal freer since we have wiped out all semblance of anything that might be construed by a prejudiced judge as in conflict with the antitrust laws Of our several states"
 Gorsuch spoke, in other letters, of sev- eral specific cases where manufacturers had sold lumber to retailers who failed to keep their agreement to restrict their sales to their own territory. He was of the opinion that if association members would refuse to buy from these manu-
 facturers 1t would be but short time until the retailers supply would be cut
 off and "this might induce him to be good"
 Certain letters introduced by the state and which MT. Gorsuch identified as having been written by him to Carl F Drake, secretary of the Texas Lum- bermen's association in 1905, showed complaint had been made that cement company had sold to consumers in Oklahoma and that MT. Gorsuch had remonstrated In reply the cement com pany officials had written him that they intended to sell wherever they pleased adding, i've are free people, living IT free country" The state also estab- lished by Mir sGorsuch the existence of a body known as the joint trade rela- tjons committee of which the witness was a member. This committee made certain recommendation which deal' with the division of trade.
 Did you send out a report to the | members of your association in Janu- ary in 1906, announcing that certain | reciprocal arrangements agreed upor i at the meeting of the Joint trades com
 n,ittee of the National Lumbermen's
 association and the Southern Lumber mems Manufacturing association ir Chicago in 1904 han been arranged? 2 asked Assistant Attorney Atkinson o1 Mir. Gorsuch.
 l "I believe l did"
 You are familiar with the rules pro riulgated by the 1904 meeting, nre you not?" the witness was asked. "No. I cannot remember them clear lily. They were never put into effect and were abroga.ed soon after they | were promulgated, was the reply. l Attorney Atkinson declared that the l rules were in effect until astute coun- sel advised the lumbermen that they
 constituted violation of the law. | Here was a conspiracy to control
 the lumber industry" he said.