Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-31


The year was in its fourth day when
the government brought suit under the
Sherman act to dissolve the Atlantic
steamship combine Five DAYS later
to dissolve the American Tobacco Com
pany was begun in the United states
Supreme Court, and the suit to dissolve
the Standard OIL Company was brought
up for reargument three days afterward
May Is the court unanimously, declared
the Standard Oil Company to be COM
bination in restraint of trade and or
dered it's dissolution within six months.
governments contention that the Amer
lean Tobacco Company was a combina-
ton In violation Of the Sherman law
and ordered it's dissolution. On October
States circuit court of the southern dis
trict of New York, as directed by the
Supreme Court, It's plan Of dissolution.
by which it proposed to surrender it's
monopoly of both the domestic and the
foreign tobacco trade and bring about
lawful conditions.
Reorganization Approved.
On November 8, with a few slight
notifications suggested by the Attor-
ney General of the United States. the
circuit court handed down an opinion
approving the company's plan. This
plan. in brief. divides the business
among fourteen separate and independ-
ent companies, no one of them having
control of dominance in the trade
as to any of the products manufac-
tured by it; no one of them having
any dominance or controlling position
as to the purchase of raw material of
any kind, no one of them having any
interest. by way of ownership of stocks
or otherwise, in any other of them,
and each of them being company.
hot har W limo tn no rn. a RI
under the plan, in which the Ameri-
can Tobacco Company will have no
| interest" For each share of stock in
| the tobacco trust each shareholder will
| of a subsidiary. November II it was
announced that the splitting up of the
subsidiaries of the Standard Oil Com
pany of New Jersey had been COM
pleted and that the stockholders frac-
tional lots were ready for distribution.
| company stockholder received SO
many 9ss.ss3ds Of a share of each
| subsidiary.
Following the dissolution Of the
trust. John D: Rockefeller resigned as
| president and director. and all the
other Rockefellers likewise resigned
their official positions. The stock con-
| troll, however, remains unchanged.
John D. Archbold now heads the Stand :
ard Oil Company.
| AHOtHSI tluSI HUI Cdkuc " dn enc
during the year as a result of government
| prosecution was the National Electric
| Lamp Company. the holding concern fol
the General Electric Company and thirty
tically the entire trade Of the country
] in what are known as carbon fila
ment" lamps, of which more than 80.
100000 are sold annually. Shortly
after the Standard Oil and tobacco de-
cisions were handed down the electrical
people indicated their desire to submit
to a decree. BY it the National Lamp
| Company and all Of the subsidiaries
are ordered dissolved and the General
Electric Company is forbidden here
manufacture or sale Of electric lamps
except in its own name. Freedom of
competition in the future is insured
first. by putting an end to the practice
or retail. on all lamps manufactured
second, by forbidding all contracts
with dealers. jobbers or consumers
through which it had been possible to
of lamps long after the patents or
them had expired, and, third, by en-
joining the companies from entering
into agreements by which independent
lamps were bound not to sell their
products to any one except the trust
save on unequal terms.
| WNVA - SSt 0AooOA0C4VAs
June 81 the United States circui
court at Wilmington, Del, ordered tn,
| dissolution Of the so-called powder
trust Eight days later a federal
grand jury in New York indicted
eighty three men connected with the
steel-wire industry. charging them
with conspiracy to restrain trade. The
list Of indictments contained the names
| of of the cOnnfrv'S hest
men of business. All pleaded nolle
contendere and were fined
In July the Attorney General began
Reading railroad companies to dissoci-
ate them from the coal companies which
they controlled. August 4, the govern
ments suit to dissolve the soft-coal
combination was begun at Columbus.
Ohio. September 10, six officials of the
United States Shoe Machinery Company
we're indicted by a federal grand jury a
Boston charged with violation of the
antitrust law. September q, suit
against the so-called lumber trust was
drought by tho government in the federal
court at Denver. October 4, brief was
filed by Attorney General Wickersham
attacking the anthracite coal-carrying
railroads under the antitrust law. Next
day, four wall paper manufacturers and
four jobbers were indicted at Cleveland
Ohio, for violation Of the same measure
October Is, the district court at Balti-
moro affirmed the governments cOnten-
ton that the tathtub trust should be
dissolved. october II. the federal court
lat Montgomery. Ala. forbade the South.
ern Wholesale Grocery Association tc
lrestrict competition.
Action Against Steel Trust.
October 26. suit was brought in the
United States circuit court at Trenton
N. j., for the dissolution of the United
} States Steel Corporation, on the ground
that it operates in restraint of trade
! Among the men who were made defend
, ants In the suit are j. p. Morgan. JOhI
D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie.
The International Harvester Company
which controls IS per cent of thu
, harvesting machine business of TIL,
country, announced after the Suprem,
Court decisions in the Standard Oil ant
!, American Tobacco cases that it wa,
anxious to conform to the anti-trus
law as interpreted In those decisions
! and in November it's officers and At
I torney General Wickersham began con
r lferring on a plan Of dissolution. Ii
! December the leading meat packers O.
the country. Ogden Armour ant
lothers-were put on trial in Chicag,
$ for criminal violation Of the anti-trus
3 law as regards the marketing Of bee
Q IproductS.