The Ekalaka eagle. [volume] (Ekalaka, Mont.) 1909-1920, 1912-01-05
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FILES
SUIT AGAINST THE KEYSTONE
COMPANY.
INTERESTING CASE ISPRESENTEu
individual Defendants Are Also
Named in Bill Urging Stop to
Alleged Selling
Monopoly.

y -. II tNNIlk
government filed suit in the United
States circuit court against the Key
stone Watch Case company. declaring
1t an unlawful combination in viola.
ton of the Sherman antitrust act and
asking that it be restrained from car.
rylng on an alleged monopoly in the
manufacture and sale of watch ca9es.
The government declares that the
company now manufactures an2.sells
80 per cent Of all watch cases W.
featured and sold in the UnISd
States" "and that it is the intent and
purpose of the defendant that the COM
pany shall monopoliZe the remainder
OF the trade and commerce"
In addition to the Keystone Watch
Case company, the Pennsylvania cor.
poration, individual defendants named
in the bill are: %Theophilus Zurbrugg
OF Riverside, N. j. until recently
president of the company: Caleb f.
Fox, Philadelphia, acting president;
Edward r. Stotesbury, Philadelphia,
vice president; John J. Mueller. Phila-
delphia, secretary; Chas. NJ. Fogg.
Philadelphia, treasurer; +. Fl. Kahn.
Philadelphia. assistant treasurer. and
Irving Smith, New York. a director.
The bill rccites that Zurbrugs con
solldated two firms of watch case
which were absorbed later by
the Riverside Watch Case
Monopoly Is Alleged.
Zurbrugg and others. the bill SAYS,
secured control of a corporation nam.
ed the Keystone Watch Case com
pany and under the name of the Key
stone Watch Case company, took over
the old Keystone and Riverside COM
panies in 1899. Later, control was OBJ.
tanned of the New York Standard
Watch company, the United States
Watch company and the f, Howard
Clock company.
In 1906, the keystone company, the
government charges. acquired control
of the Crescent Watch Case company.
which had previously purchased the
entire watch case business of the
Observation-Disclosures Watch company
and the Bay State Watch Case COM
pany Of Boston. 1t is also alleged that
the Keystone company acquired S51
of the 1000 shares of the American
Watch Case company of Toronto. Ltd.
The remainder of the stock is own.
ed by the Waltham Watch company
and the Elgin National Watch COM
pany. A Canadian corporation known
as the Keystone-Crescent Watch Case
company of Canada. Limited, was
then organized to- act as a sales agent
of the American Watch Case
of Toronto. The capital stock of this
corporation is owned by the Keystone
company.
New Contract Alleged.
In 1904, it is charged. the Keystone
company entered into a contract with
the Elgin National Watch
whereby the Keystone company was
put in exclusive charge OF the entire
export trade of the Elgln company. ex-
cept the trade with Canada; and in
1906, the Keystone company. through
a contract with the Waltham Watch
company, was made sales agent for
the latter in all leading foreign coun-
tries except Great Britain, France and
Spain.
By virtue of these consultations
oAIu Jill dSto, tuc SONCI III jill d.
serts, the Keystone company directly,
and indirectly controlled the tradea and
commerce in watch eases SO as to en-.
able it to practically exclude all COM
p~etitors and ~monopOlize the trade it.
self. 1t also charges that the defend
ants induced jobbers to cease hand.
ling any other lines of goods than
those made by the keystone company
and its subsidiaries, kept a blacklist
of all dealers who sold said movements
at less than the established price
land refused to sell said movements
as we'll as any of their watch cases to
jobbers who continued to sell to re.
tailers whose names appeared on said
list"
"Urged to 'Sell.
defendants have also urged com.
petitors to sell their plant and bust
ness to the Keystone" the bill adds.
Threatening them with destruction
should they refuse to do SO and have
declared their intention of acquiring
the remainder of the trade and COM
merce in watch cases and have as.
serted that they would spend $1,000.
900 If necessary to drive some of the
larger of it's competitors out of bust.
ness, and that defendants would hang
crepe on the doors of such c0mpeti.