The Calumet news., 1911-12-05


court and end the violation of the stat.
ute. There was here no single hold
ING company. as I'm the case OF the
Standard oil trust. The main company
was the American Tobacco company.
manufacturing. selling and holding
company. The plan adopted TO de-
stroy the combination and restore COM
petition involved the redivision of the
capital and plants OF the whole trust
between some of the companies con. I
stituting the trust and new companies !
organized for the purposes of the de- !,
cree and made parties TO 1t and num- /
bering, new and old fourteen.
Situation After Readjustmsnt.
The American Tobacco company
(old), readJusted capital S92 100000; /
the Liggett & Meyers Tobacco company /
new. capital SCI 100000; the p. Loril- .
lard company new, capital $47.0O0,-
600. and the II. ]. Reynolds Tobacco
company (old), capital $7,525,000, are
chiefly engaged In the manufacture
and sale Of chewing and smoking to-
bacco and cigars. The former one tin
foil company is divided into two, one
of SS25,000 capital and the other of
100000. The one snuff company Is
divided into three companies. one with
q capital OF $15.000,O00. another with n
capital of SSO00000 and third with
n capital of $S.000,000. The ficorice
companies are two. one with a capital
of $5,T5S.300 and another with a capt.
tai of 100000. There is also the
British American Tobacco company, n
British corporation. doing business
! abroad with capital of $2G000,O00.
the Porto Rican Tobacco company,
with capital of S1.S00000. and the
corporation of United Cigar Stores,
with a capital of S9,000.oO0
Under this arrangement each OF the
different kinds Of business will be dis
tributed between two or more compa-
MES with n division Of the prominent
brands IN the same tobacco products.
so as TO make competition not only
possible but necessary. Thus the
smoking tobacco business of the coun-
try is divided so that the present In.
dependent companies have 21.39 per
cent, while the American Tobacco COM
pany will have 33.0S per cent. the Lig-
gett & Meyers 2005 per cent, the Loril-
lard company 22.S2 per cent and the
Reynolds company 2.60 per cent The
stock of the other 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 null and further per-
formance Of them has been enjoined.
The preferred stock of the different
companies has now been given voting
power which was denied 1t under the
old organization. The ratio Of the pre-
ferred stock to the common was as 7S
TO 40. This constitutes n very decided
change in the character of the owner
ship and control of each company.
In the original suit there were TWEEN
ty-nine defendants. who were charged
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 various
distributee companies ranging from Al
per cent as n maximum to 2Sli per
cent as minimum. except in the case
of one small company, the Porto Rican
Tobacco company. in which they will
hold 40 per cent. The twenty-nine in
| dividual 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 enjoined 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 companies 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
NSpNhucht loDuCCO COHlpdDleS tuuL lulS
I.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 be a division of
the capital and plant of the trust into
small fractions in amount more near
ly equal to that of each of the inde-
pendent companies. This contention
results from a misunderstanding of
the antitrust law and its purpose. 1t
Is not intended thereby to prevent the
accumulation of large capital In busi-
ness enterprises In which such a COM
bination can secure reduced cost OF
production, sale and distribution. 1t
is directed against such an aggrega-
tion of capital only when its purpose
Is that of sitting competition, enhanc-
ing or controlling prices and establish
ing monopoly. If 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