River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1911-12-07


vided into two, one of $825,000 cap
ital and the other % 100000. The
one snuff company Is divided into
three companies, one with capitai
of S15,000,0O0; another with CAP
ital of $8,000.000; and a third with
capital of $4,000, 900. The licorice
companies are two, one with cap
ital of $5.75S.00 and another with
capital of $2,000,00O. There Is. also,
the British-American Tobacco COM
pany, British corporation, doing
business abroad with a capital OF
$26.000.000, the Porto Rican Tobac-
co company with capital OF
$1,S00,000, and the corporation Of
United Cigar Stores, with capital
of 100000. Under this arrange
ment each of the different kinds Of
business will be distributed between
two or more companies, with a d.
vision of the prominent brands in the
same tobacco products, so as to make
competition not only possible but
necessary. Thus the smoking tobac-
co business Of the country is divided
so that the present independent COM
panies have 21.39 per cent, while the
American Tobacco company will have
33.O8 per cent, the Liggett and
Meyers zoos per cent, the Lorillard
company. 22.82 per cent, and the
reynolds company 266 per cent. The
stock of the other thirteen companies,
Doth preferred and common, has been
taken from the defendant American
TOBACCO company and has been dis
trlouted among its stockholders. All
covenants restricting competition have
Deen declared null and further per-
romance of them has been enjoined.
Inc preferred stock of the different
companies has now been given vot-
ing power which was denied it under
the OLD organization. The ratio of
the preferred stock to the common
was as 70 to 40. This constitutes a
very decided change in the character
OF the ownership and control Of
each company.
In the original suit there were TWEEN
ty-nine defendants who were charged
with being the conspirators through
whom the illegal combination acquired
and exercised it's unlawful dominion.
Under the decree these defendants
will hold amounts of stock in the va
rious distributee companies ranging
from Al per cent. as a maximum to
28h per cent. as a minimum, except
in the case Of one small company, the
Porto Rican Tobacco company. in
which they will hold Is per cent. The
Twenty-Five individual defendants are
enjoined for three years from buying
any stock except from each other,
and the group is thus prevented from
extending it's control during that Pc
Rod. All parties to the suit, and the
new companies who are made parties,
are enjoined perpetually from in any
way effecting any combination be-
tween any of the companies In viola
ton of the statute by way Of resump-
ton of the old trust. Each of the
fourteen companies is enjoined from
acquiring stock In any of the others.
All these companies are enjoined from
having common directors 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 1t left
companies with very large capital in
h,,e hot
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 factions in amount more nearly
equal to that of each Of the independ-
ent companies. This contention re-
suits from misunderstanding of the
antitrust law and it's purpose. 1t is
not intended thereby to prevent the
accumulation of large capital in bust
ness enterprises in which such COM
bination can secure reduced cost of
production, sale and distribution. It
is directed against such an aggrega-
ton Of capital only when its purpose
is that of sitting competition, enhanc-
Ing or controlling prices and estab-
fishing a monopoly. If we shall have
by the decree defeated these purposes
and restored competition between the
large units into which the capital and
plant have been divided, we shall have
accomplished the useful purpose Of
the statute.
confiscation Not the Purpose Of the
Statute.
It is not the purpose Of the statute
TO confiscate the property and capital
Of the offending trusts. Methods of
punishment by fine or Imprisonment
Of the individual offenders, by fine Of
the corporation, or by forfeiture OF its
goods in transportation. are provided.
but the proceeding in equity is a spe-
cific remedy to stop the operation of
the trust by Injunction and prevent
the future use of the plant and capital
IN violation OF the statute.
Effectiveness Of Decree.
venture to say that not in che his
,orv Of American law has a decree
more effective for such a purpose
haan entered by a court than that
against the Tobacco trust AZ Circuit
Judge Noyes said in his Judgment ap-
proying the decree:
"The extent to which Il has been
necassary to tear apart this combina-
49,, and force 1t into new forms with
tha attendant burdens ought to DEM
on strate that the federal antitrust