New-York tribune., 1911-11-17
GOVERNMENT ENDORSES
TOBACCO TRUST PLAN
WiCkerSham, After Seeing Taft,
Says No Appeal Will Be Taken
from Court Decree.
FR0WNS ON INDEPENDENTS
Attorney General Believes the
Scheme Of Dissolution Will Re-
store Competitive Condi-
tions in the Industry.
TFrom The tribune Bureau. !

Washington. Nov. 16-The govern
ment will not appeal from the decree
entered in the Circuit Court at New
tion of the American Tobacco Company
into fourteen corporations. Attorney
General Wickersham. satisfied that the
decree will terminate q monopoly and
the courts decision, although the gov
ernment possesses the right to carry the
plan of dissolution to the highest tri-
bunal at any time within year.
The purpose of the Department OF
Justice to give the plan a fair trial and
to prevent interference on the part Of
the Independents in carrying it into ef-
feet was announced by the Attorney
General in a statement to-day.
Presumably the explanation of the At
tCrney General of the attitude of the ad-
mnistraton was made with the approval
Of the President. as they discussed the
decree at length at the White House
earlier in the day. 1t indicates satisfac-
belief that il will restore competitive
conditions, aimed at by the antitrust
law At the same time, with the evil
dent purpose of bringing about the re-
adjustment of the affairs of the corpora
ton as speedily as possible, of restoring
order and of preventing what might be
called the badgering of the trust by the
independents, the department has not
Cnly decided not to appeal from the de-
cree. but has protested against others
attempting to do so.
Will Restore Lawful Conditions.
"The Attorney General believes" as
set forth in the statement, that TINS
plan. with the restrictive provisions en-
bodied in the decree. will accomplish
recreation of lawful conditions. and
being so convinced, he has opposed the
efforts of outsiders to inject themselves
into the situation. and to delay or pre-
vent the carrying out Of the PLAN
In his comment on the objections to
the plan advanced by the independents
Attorney General Wickersham ex-
presses certain opinions which may be
regarded as applicable to the question
of dissolution of corporations in general.
These are characterized by a conserva
tism of tone, an obvious purpose TO keep
within the spirit of the law and TO avoid
extreme measures which would result,
in effect, in reciverships and injury to
the general business conditions of the
country. The Attorney General says:
The decree embodies substantially all OF
the requests made by the government, ex-
outsiders of the United Cigar Stores Com
ment at any time within five years TO
apply to the court for relief based upon a
showing that competitive conditions have
not actually resulted from the operations
of the plan.
1t is the opinion of the Attorney Cen
eral that the execution Of this plan will
necessarily result in termination of the
monopolistic conditions created by the un-
lawful combination, and in substituting
actual competitive conditions instead The
principal objections made by the so-called
independents to the plan were based
first the fact that the stocks of the
respective distriDutee companies are to be
distributed to and among the stockholders
of the American Tobacco Company, so that
the same body of shareholders will sub
stanually control each of the distributee
companies.