Smyrna times., 1912-08-21
TO DISSOLVE
MOVIE TRUST
Government Attacks Film Com.
hine as Being Monopoly.
UNDUE CONTROL IS ALLEGED

United States District Court In PhiIa-
delphia Will Hear Suit to Dissolve
the so-calIed $foo,oO0,OOo Moving
Picture Trust.
The federal government opened war
upon the moving picture trust by
filing a suit in equity for ~ dissOlu-
ton in the United States district court
in Philadelphia.
Ten prominent moving picture film
concerns are accused of combining to
monopolize the business, even to the
extent of increasing or decreasing the
number of motion picture theatres in
which they have no proprietary inter
est.
The following corporations and in
dividuals, who are officers or direc-
tors, are named as defendants:
Motion Picture Patents company,
General Film company BiOgraph
company, Thomas A. Edison, Inc;
Essanay Film Manufacturing COM
pany, the Kalem company, inc;
George Kleine, Lubin Manufacturing
company, Melies Manufacturing COM
pany, Pathe Freres, the Selig Poly
scope company, the Vitagraph COM
pany of America, Armat Moving Pic
ture company, Frank L. Dyer, Henry
| N. Marvin, ]. ]. Kennedy, William
Pelzer, Samuel Long, j. A. Berst, Sieg-
mund Lubin, CASTOR Melies, Albert E.
Smith, George K. Speer and w. N.
Selig.
| The court is asked to restrain these
| persons and companies from exercis-
ing an undue monopoly of the NOV
ing picture business.
Each OF the defendants is alleged 10
have overstepped the bounds of the
lawful monopoly granted by their pat
ents, and the petition asks that sew
eral complicated interlOcking license
restrictions, tying patents together,
be ordered cancelled. The govern
ment charges that unreasonable and
oppressive restraints and conditions
have been arbitrarily imposed on the
manufacture and leasing of films and
machines, depriving the public of the
advantages of competition, especially
the competition of foreign films, the
importation of which is alleged to be
restricted.
Edwin P. Grosvenor, special assist
ant to the attorney general, who has
charge of the pending antitrust sui
against the International Harvester
company, made an exhaustive investi
cation of the moving picture business
drawing up the petition, which was
filed by John G. Swartley, United
States attorney. The bill is also sign
ed by Attorney General Wickershan
and James A. Fowler, his assistant.
The governments petition says tina
between 100000 and 100000 feet o
pictures are printed each week b.
manufacturers and distributed to thou
sands of exhibitors all over the Unitet
States. The government declares tha
a sum greatly in excess of $10O,O00,00
has been invested in the differen
| branches of the business. The de
PENDANTS control, it is added, from Z
to 80 per cent. of the film business
furnishing approximately 1000 exhib
tors.
! The Motion Picture Patents con
pany, organized in New Jersey in Sci
> | tember, 1908, is the holding compan
of all the motion picture patents {
the defendants. Other than collectin
and distributing royalties among tn
defendants, the bill says the Patent
company's only business is the brin
ing of lawsuits under the patents
holds. Hundreds Of suits have bee
= brought, it is alleged, ito harrass an
oppress all persons engaged in Il
:, motion picture business who have nj
obeyed it's mandates"