The Cairo bulletin., 1911-06-17
|USE Of BLACK LIST ATTORNEY CHOSEN
uM6Eh Trust INQUIRY IN MAS
souri, RECALLS LAWi-E3S
COMBINATION
Agreements Seen To Have Limited
Territory and Prevented Sales 20
These Who Violated
Agreement,

| Kansas City, Mo-, June ia bun
die of letters which passed between
John A. Gorsuch, secretary Of the
Southwestern I-umbermen's Associa.
| tion, aud Carl A. Drake, formerly SEC
| rotary Of the Texas Lnmhermen hs.
ISOLATION, and which were contiscat eG
| from brakes Office when he recently
fled from Austin, Tex. put vigor INFO
the states custer suit against the
alleged humber monGpoIy when they
were introduced into evidence by the
prosecution here today.
Mr.. Gorsuch, who was on the Wit
ness stand. admitted the letters were
genuine.
The state contends that the letter.,
which were read prove:
That fourteen lumbermen's asso
Citations. embracing practically the
whole of the forest area of the United
States, maintained an information
bureau" which kept its members ad-
vised upon what manufacturers seq
direet TO the consumer.
That manufacturers who soll 10 re-
tailers that failed to keep their as.
sociation obligations were blacklisted.
That the members Of various asso.
Citations had agreements not 10 In
wade one another's territory.
That Mr.. Gorsuch was fearful lest
the workings of the information bur.
eau" violate the antitrust laws
That the Southern Lumbermen's AS.
ISOLATION refrain from putting into
bylaws and constitution penalties
for dealers who failed TO keep their
membership obligations, because it
was feared the organization might be
brought into conflict with the anti
trust laws.
Warned To Be Cautious.
It would appear from a letter Draie
wrote Gorsuch on May 4. 1903, that
Gorsnch had warned him TO be eau
tious, Drake said in part:
Il am in receipt of your letter OF
the LIST. do not think there is any.
thing in our antitrust laws that Is
going to affect the workings of tie
Bureau Of Information am much
more interested in the result of the
internal workings than scared Of any
particular danger that may arise 10
u.s. For more than four years I have
been able to keep out of the peniten,
tiary through cool luck and political
influence, and feel that I am get
ting most too old to change my aboGe,
ana am keeping up my political con.
nections.
Il nave sent a copy OF the consti-
tuition and bylaws as you heard them
read in Galveston. together with y
copy OF the antitrust law to Hollis
| for the opinion of the attorney chief"
Crake did not lave Texas on a..
count Of any trouble he had with the
state over his connection with tne
lumber business. After he departed
| the attorney general OF Texas ran
sacked brakes office, found the let
| ters and forwarded them TO John NJ.
! Atkinson, attorney general of Mis-
souri,. VINO is conducting the lumber
prosecution.
sSroposed to Protect Members.
In letter referring to the failure
of the Southwestern Lumbermen's
| Association to include penalties in It's
bylaws, Gorsuch, in letter to Duke
on May Is, 1893, sad
"A number of our members have
asked me what we propose to do
since we wiped out all penalties and
obligations, and | have answered all
of them that every dealer n humber
who is a member OF the association
has been in business long enough to
| know Just what the object of the as.
| socation is, and that we propose to
| protect our members in the same old
| way as We have been doing, and that
| 1t IS not necessary to put il down in
| black and white in our constitution
and bylaws, ] have found them all
| satisfied with the change and feel a
| good deal freer since we have wiped
out all semblance of anything that
might be construed by prejudiced
Judge as in comet with the antitrust
laws of our several states"
Gorsuch spoke in other letters o.
several specific cases where manu-.
facturers had sold lumber to retail.
ers who failed to keep their agree.
ment to restrict their sales TO their
own territory. He was of he opiD-
ion that If ASSOCIATION members would
refuse TO buy from these manufac.
turers Ii would be but a short time
until the retailers supply would be
cut off and "this might induce him
to be good
| AnTfAnf