The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-06-23
FEDERAL COURT DEC lDE D
AGAINST DU PONT DE NE
MOURS COMPANY.
CONTROLLED 64 CORPORATIONS
Twenty Eight Defendants Said 10
Form a Combination in Restraint CT
Trade-Senator Du Pont Absolve1
From Blame.

Wilmington, Del, June 22.-ThC
United States circuit court for Della
ware today gave a decision declarlul
that the alleged powder trust, whicl
is dominated by the +. l.. Du Pom
De Nemours company, is "A combina
ton in restraint of interstate com
morce in powder and other explosives
IN violation of section | of the Sher
man antitrust law; that it attempted
to monopolize and has monopoiized
a part of such commerce in violation
OF section of the same law, and de
creeing that the combination shall be
enioined from continuing this violation
and that il be dissolved.
The action gainst the powder trust
was begun by the government I'm 1907
and was directed against forty-three
corporate and individual defendants.
Fifteen of the defendants were dis
missed because some of the concerns
are out Of existence or it was not
shown that they were parties to the
combination.
Hearing Set for October 16.
In an interlocutory decree, the court
fixed October 16 as the date to hear
both sides as to the nature of the in
junction to be granted and consider a
plan for dissolving the combination,
to the end that this court may ascer-
tain and determine upon a plan or
method for such dissolution which will
not deprive the defendants of the OPP
portunity to recreate. ont of the ele-
ments now composing said combina
ton. a new condition which shall be
honestly in harmony with, and not re-
pugnant TO, the law"
All the individuals named except
one, are directors of the Dupont com
panies, of which Thomas Coleman
Dupont is president The one is an
active director of the International
Smokeless Powder and Chemical com
pany.
Senator Dupont indicated.
The only members of the Dupont
family mentioned in the suit who is
NOT found TO be violating The law, is
Henry \. Dupont, United States sena
tor from Delaware The court found
that in June, 1906 year before the
suit was begun, he resigned all his
Official positions in the companies ana
mas had neither real nor nominal con
nection with their management since
then.
The decision goes into the history
Of interstate commerce in gunpoWder
and explosives hack as far as 1872,
when the government charged the
first trade agreement of manufactures
was entered into. 1t finds that Wien
the suit was begun the Dupont com
Eany organized in 1902. controlled in
the United States the trade in black
blasting powder, "a per cent: salt
petre blasting powder. ~ per cent:
dynamite, - per cent; black sporting
powder, 73 per cent; smokeless sport
ing powder, 81 per cent; smokeless
and ordnance powder, exclu-
siye of what the United States govern
ment itself made, 100 per cent.
Controlled Sixty-Four Corporations.
The court also finds that the Du-
pont company of 1903 and the Eastern
Dynamite company, controlled by the
Dupont, acquired control of sixty-four
between April, 1904, and
September. 1907, and caused them to
be dissolved. Concerning the final
decree TO be issued the court says:
TO stop the business of the combi-
nation Immediately might be attended
with very disastrous consequences
The defendants, or some of them. for
example. furnish military and ord
nance powders to the United States
government. We understand, too, that
they furnish explosives used in the
of the Panama canal.
Their ability to continue so TO do
should not be destroyed before the
expiration of a reasonable time for al
usting their business TO their changed
n - ~