The Elbert County tribune., 1911-12-08

manufacture and sale Of chewing and
| former one tin-foil company. is d.
vided into two. one Of Ss25.000 cap
ital and the other OF 100000 The
one snuff company is divided into
three companies, one with a capital
Of $l5.000.000: another with cap
ital of 100000: and third With
capital OF 100000. The licorice
companies ara two. one with cap
ital of s5,75800 and another with
capital OF 100000. There is, also.
| the British-American Tobacco com
pany. a British corporation. doing
business abroad with capital of
CO company with capital OF
| $1,800.000. and the corporation of
United Cigar Stores, with capital
of $9,000.000. 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
ss.os per cent. the Llggett and
Meyers 20.05 per cent. the Lorillard
company 22.82 per cent, and the
Reynolds company 2.66 per cent. The
stock OF the other thirteen companies.
Doth preferred and common, has been
taken from the defendant American
Iooacco company and has been dis
triouted among its stockholders. All
covenants restricting competition have
peen declared null and further per-
lormance OF them has been enjoined.
me preferred stock of the different
companies has now been given vot-
ing power which was denied It under
me old organization. The ratio of
'ne preferred stock to the common
was as rs to 40. This constitutes a
very decided change In the character
oI 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 Its unlawful dominion.
Under the decree these defendants
VIII hold amounts of stock In the va
rious distributee companies ranging
from Al per cent. as a maximum to
2Sh per cent. as minimum, except
In the case of one small company. the
Porto Rican Tobacco company. in
which they will hold 45 per cent. The
twenty-nine individual defendants are
en1oined for three years from buying
any stock except from each other.
and the group is thus prevented from
extending its control during that pc
riod. All parties to the suit and the
new companies who are made parties.
are en1oined perpetually from in any
way efiecting any combination be-
tween any of the companies In viola
ton Of the statute by way OF resump-
tion 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
active business. and that the settle
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 its purpose II is
not intended thereby to prevent the
accumulation OF large capital in busi
ness enterprises in which such com
bination can secure reduced cost of
production, sale and distribution. 1t
Is directed against such an aggrega-
tion of capital only when Its 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
confiscatior 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-
cific remedy to stop the operation OF
the trust by injunction and prevent