The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-01-10
HOW THE TOBACCO
TRUST FHROTTLED
ALL COMPETITORS
Attorney Pictures Story
OF it's Greed and Mo-
nopoiy
IN j. 5. SUPREME COURT
Argument Begun in he Suit for the
Dissolution Of the Tobacco Trust
Special Assistant to the Attorney
General j.. c. McIeeynolds Makes
the Opening Argument 10 the Court.
(By the Associated Press.)

A>A~Ss
Washington, d. G., Jan. Oral ar
gurnents directed at the proposed dis
solution of the sO-called Tobacco
Trust We're begun late today in the
Supreme Court. AS a year ago, when
the dissolution suit vas argued for
the first time before the court. SO to-
day J. c. McIaeynolds, special assist
ant to the Acknowledgement in charge
Of the tobacco fight for the govern
ment, made the opening address to the
court. He had not concluded his re-
marks when court adjourned Until
Monday.
MIR. McReynoids surprised some
members Of the court by stating that
the dissolution was asked not only
under the Sherman Antitrust law. but
under the Wilson tariff law Of 1894.
Mr.. M~cReynolds told the court that
this was the first case that a ever
been brought under the Wilson tariff
act. The act, he explained, applied to
OF restraint Of trade where
an importer was a party.
Much discussion had taken place in
N~- 90 ~ AACLI1C w IOt
the phrase restraint of trade" as
used in the Sherman antitrust law,
was equivalent to restraint of free
competition" Mr.. McReynclds point
ed to the Wilson act as the Congress
sional Interpretation OF the Sherman.
act passed four years previous, in
which all doubt as to the meaning
had been by using the phrase
restraint of free competition"
Nearly the entire time that Mr Nc
Reynolds spoke was devoted 10 j: his
tory OF the so-calied tobacco trust
from the time the first American To-
baccO Company was organized in S90
Tor the alleged purpose OF eifecking Il
monopoly in b cigarette trade, ami
thus avoiding competition Of indie
pendent corporations, down to the In
corporation in1eO4 of the new Aneri-
can Tobacco Company as a holding
company, controlling sixty-five COM
panieS Interested i'll various branches
of the business.
He described the plug war; about
1892. resulting in the organization OF
the Continental Tobacco Company, by
which, he alleged. t. was restored
and composition of independents was
eliminated. He told OF similar COM
binations in the snuff. cigar and stogie
trade. II1CSc COllD1tldLiOI1S IN &c
scribed as designed to reInove cOInpc-
tition. OnCe organized, he told how
Competing plants were purchased, each
purchase being accomplished by Gov
enants on the part Of those who were
selling out not to Engage in he bust
ness OF manufacturing or SELLING to-
baccO within from ten to twenty years
in the United States, except Nevada
and a Territory or two. Finally, he
turned to the contracts Of the AmeIi-
can Tobacco Company with the So
called British Tobacco Trust" the
Imperial Tobacco Company. BY these
contracts. he said, the trade Of the
world in a had been DarceIed
out between them. the American
'.Trust'' taking the United States anf
Cuba for its own: the British ''Trust."
Great Britain, ireland. the Isle Of
Man: and the British-American To-
b:cco Company, organized By the two
~"trusts.' carrying on the tobacco bus
iEess in the rest of the world. As a
result of these combinations he al
legged that competition for the pUr-
chase OF leaf tobacco had been eiiEni-
mated in the United States.