Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1911-12-06


manufacture ana sale sgof chleewinE. ana
smoking tobacco and cigars. The
former one tin-foil company IL 4 al.
5vided Into two. one 81 $685., 900 cap
ital and the other q: $500. 000. The
one snuff company IL divided into
three conn anies. one with capital
Of @16. 5000; another with . cap
ital Of $4,000. 900: and q third with q
capital Of $4,000. 900. The licorice
companies are two. one with q cap
ital OF $5,768,00 and another with q
capital Of $2.000.000. There Is, also,
the Br1ttsh-American Tobacco com
pany. British corporation, doing
business abroad with capital Of
$26. 900. 600. the Porto R1can .Tobac.
GO company with capital Of
]l.S00.000. and the corporation OF
United Cigar Stores. with a capital
OF 100000. Under this arrange.
ment each Of the different kinds Of
business will be distributed between
two or more companies. with q di.
vision OF the prominent brands in the
same '' tobacco products, 80 as to make
composition not only possible but
necessary. Thus the smoking tobac.
co business Of the country is divided
SO that the present independent com.
pan1es have 21.39 per cent. while the
american Tobacco company will have
ss.Vo per cent, the Liggett and
MEYERS zoos per cent, the Lorillard
company 22.82 per cent, and the
reynolds company 2.66 per cent. The
STOCK OF the other thirteen companies,
pom preferred and common, has been
.aken from the defendant American
Iopaeco company and hase been dis.
tllouted among it's stockholders. All
covenants restricting competition have
oeen declared null and further per
l .e. Of them has been en1oined.
Inc preferred stock Of the different
.on'pan1es has now been given vot-
lug power which was denied it under
ne old organization. The ratio J of
no preferred stock to the common
was as 7S to 40. This constitutes a
very decided change in the character
~ the ownership and control of
each company. I.
In the original suit there were TWEEN.
LYNNE 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
r1ous dtstributee 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 As per cent. The
twenty-nine individual defendants are
enjoined for three years from buying
any stock except from each other,
and the group is thus prevented from
extending its 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 effectfng 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 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 division of
the capital and plant Of the trust into
small factionstin amount more nearly
equal to that of each of the independ-
ent companies. This contention re.
suits from misunderstanding of the
antitrust law and its purpose. It 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 it's purpose
is that of sitting competition, enhanc-
ing or controlling prices and estab-
fishing monopoly. II 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 spe.
cif1c 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.
s. (. ; y t 2