Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-12-05

STANDARD Oil trust. Tie main rO-ll'an.'
was the American Tobacco company.
a 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.
shutting the trust and new companies
organized for the purposes of the de-
cree and made parties to it and mum.
bering. new and old. fourteen.
Situation After Readjustment.
The American Tobacco company
(old), readjusted capital $92.Oo0.0O0:
the Liggett & Meyers Tobacco company
new, capital SCI. 100000; the P. Loril
lard company new, capital $41.O0O.-
600. and the r. J. Reynolds Tobacco
company (old). capital $7.525.OOO. 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 $825,OOO capital and the other Of
100000. The one snuff company is
divided into three companies. one with
q capital Of SIT. 900 900. another with a
capital of 100000 and a third with
4 capital Of $8.000000 The licortce
companies are two. one with capital
Of $5,768.300 and another with capt.
tai of 100000. There is also the
British-American Tobacco company.
British corporation. doing business
abroad with capital Of $4,000. O0O
the Porto Rican TOBACCO company.
with a capital Of 100000. and the
corporation Of United Cigar Stores
with capital Of 100000.
Under this arrangement each of the
different kinds of business will be dis
tributed between two or more compa.
MES with a division Of the prominent
brands In the same tobacco products.
60 as to make competition not only
possible. but necessary. Thus the
smoking tobacco business Of the coun
try is divided 80 that the present in
dependent companies have 21.39 per
cent, while the American Tobacco COM
pany will have 33.08 per cent. the Lig.
gett & Meyers zoos per cent. the Loril.
lard company 22S2 per cent and the
Reynolds company 2.66 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 ckholders All
covenants restricting competition have
been declared null and further per-
Torrance Of them has been enjoined.
The preferred stock Of the different
companies has now been given voting
power which was denied it under the
old organization. The ratio of the pre-
ferred stock to the common was as 70
to 40. This constitutes a very decided
change in the character of the owner.
ship and control Of each company.
In the original suit there were TWEEN.
LYNNE defendants. who were charged
with being the conspirators through
whom the illegal combination acquired
and exercised its unla wfuI dominion.
Under the decree these defendants will
hold amounts of stock in the various
distributee companies ranging from II
per cent as maximum to 2S11h per
cent as a minimum. except In the case
Of one small company. the Porto Rican
Tobacco company. in which they will
hold 45 per cent. The Twenty-Five 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 e6ecting any
combination between any of the CON-
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 :
dependent tobacco companies that this
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
" equal to that Of each Of the indie
pendent companies. This contention
results from a Misunderstanding of
the antitrust law and its purpose. 1t
b not intended thereby to prevent the
Of large capital in busi-
ness enterprises in which such COM
can secure reduced cost Of
production, sale and distribution. It