The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1911-05-19
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FILES A
NEW ANTITRUST SUIT.
SENSATIONAL CHARGES MADE
THE ULTIMATE CONSUMER SAID
TO BE HELPLESS.
AGAINST RETAIL CONSPIRACY
Attorney General Wickersham Alleges
"Undue" and Unreasonable" Re-
strant OF Trade by Ten orsaniza-
tions and About 150 individuals.

straint Of Trade by Ten oreanza-
tions and About 15o individuals.
New York, May 49, - Sweeping
charges of gigantic conspiracy to
maintain high prices to blacklist con
Germs not regarded as proper trade,
and to violate generally the Sherman
antitrust law are made In govern
ment suit filed by Attorney General
WiCkersham in the United States
court here today against the so-called
lumber trust.
Ten trade organizations and more
than $50 individuals are named as de-
PENDANTS in this suit, which may be
the first of several planned by the de-
partment of justice against commits
slons of retailers in staple commodi-
ties and the necessaries of life to pre-
vent the ultimate consumer from buy
ing anywhere except from local re-
tailers.
At Mercy of Retailers.
The governments suit is replete
with sensational allegations and 1t is
asserted that builders and consumers
of lumber the country over are at the
mercy of the retailers organizations
in different sections of the United
States.
The suit filed today is against the
Eastern States Detail Lumber Deal
ers association, which is the central
body of nine local organizations COW
ering five states the District of Colum-
bia and the cities of Baltimore and
Philadelphia.
Conforms to New Ruling.
This is the governments first anti
trust suit conforming to the supreme
courts Standard Oil decision in that
it alleges undue" and unreasonable
restraint of trade of the consumer of
the manufacturer.
1t is the evident purpose of the plea
to confine the charge largely to that
feature, small stress being placed on
the restraint of trade among the con
spirators themselves.
Attorney General Wickersham and
his special assistant, Clark McKer
cher, have devoted more than year
gathering the evidence on which to-
days suit is based. The evidence in
cludes copies of the alleged agree
ments, blacklists and reports of the
various organizations branding whole
sale and retailers who have dared tC
violate the rules of the association as
"poachers," mavericks" "scalpers,
and "illegitimate dealers" to whom
'short shift" must be applied.
The defendants named in the sui
and who are alleged to have conspiret
among themselves and with the assist
ance of National Wholesale Lumber
Dealers association have prevented
wholesalers from selling directly ol
indirectly to consumers are:
The Defendant Companies.
The Eastern States Retail Lumber
Dealers association, a New York cor
poration with offices at No. Is Broad
way.
The New York Lumber Trade asso
citation of New York City.
The Building Material Mems asso
citation of Westchester county, N.
The Lumber Dealers association o
Connecticut.
The Massachusetts Retail Lumbe
Dealers association.
The Lumber Dealers association O
Rhode Island.
The Retail Lumbermen's association
of Baltimore.
The officers and directors, trustee
and members of the above are name
as individual defendants as well a
the officers and directors and member
of the following three voluntary o.
ganizations:
The New Jersey Lumbermen's PrC
tective association.
The Retail Lumbermen's associatio
of Philadelphia.
The Lumber Exchange of the Di
trict of Columbia.
The government asks for a perm
nent injunction restraining the defe
dants from continuing the conspirac
charged.
A Plan of BIacklisting.
The government charges in bri,
that by an elaborate system of blac
listing, not only individual consumer
but some of the largest industrial CO
porations have been prevented fro
dealing directly with wholesalers. I
alleged unlawful agreements and ac
it is charged that all competition f,
the trade of the contractor, the bull
ers, the manufacturers of finished lui
ber products and the individual co
sumer has been thrown entirely in
the hands of the retailers, in the eas
ern states, the Retail Lumber Deale
association and its constituent organ
Zation.
The governments bill alleges that
some localities the wholesaler sellil
to a consumer has either been heavi
fined or expelled from the organic
ton.
Cost of Living Involved.
Officials of the department of j,