The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1913-02-08
LAST TRUST
IS BUSTED
FEDERAL JUDaE IN DETROIT EN-
TIERS AN AGREED DECREE
AGAINST COMBINE.

Detroit, Mich, Feb. THE "boot
and shoe last trust" fixing, it is al
legged, the price of every last sold in
the United States, was dissolved here
today by the federal government in
quick time. Immediately following the
filing Of a civil antitrust suit against
the krentler-Arnold Hinge Last COM
pany n a number of last manu-
facturers with whom it was allied by
agreements, United States District
Judge Arthur T. Cutie entered an
agreed decree terminating license
agreements insofar as they fixed the
price of unpatented lasts and dissolv-
ing a club through which the alleged
violation of the Sherman law was ac-
complished.
The decree, in eff ct, lays down the
broad principle that it is unlawful to
tie together patented and u~npatented
articles SO as to fix the price of the
unpatented commodity. Neither the
governments petition nor the decree
quostiors the right of a patentee to
fix the price of a patented last.
Def ndants to the suit We're named as
follows:
Krentler-Arnold Hinge Last COM
pany CDetroit). krentler Brothers
company (Detroit); Crawford Nc
Gregor & Candy company dayton.
o.; Rebhun company (C%incinna.i;;
st. Louis Last company est. LOUISE;
Chicago Last & Die company; Boston
Last company; Rochester Last COM
any Woodward & Wright Last COM
any Campbell, Mass.); George e.
Belcher Last company (Stoughton.
Mass.); MaWhinney Last company
(Brockton, Mass.); Goldbert Last com
pany worcester, Mass.); Marlboro
Last company (Marlboro, Mass.); New
York Last company; John Pell & Sons
Newark, N. -; Stewart & Potter
company CNew York city,; r. S. Nc
Neill company brooklyn, N. W;
Philadelphia Last & Pattern company;
Vulcan Box Toe Process company
PORTSMOUTH, OD; Nathaniel e. Arm
old and George F. Atwood North
Abingdon, Mass J; George H. Van
Pelt (Chicago); +. w. Stewart (Bev-
erly, Mass.); w. f. Bigelow (Wor-
c%ester. Mass.); 6. G. Kempton, S. S.
Redifer, Oscar Redifer and William
G. Root (Philadeiphia); L. c.. Wad-
leigh and j. H. Hovey (Haverhill,
Mass.); Edwin O Krentler (Detroit);
William Fl. Crawford dayton, o.;
Charles S. Dennis (Chicago) and Fred
Drew (Brockton, Mass.).
The defendants manufacture, it is
declared, 70 to so per cent of all shoe
and boot lasts in the United States
and thus dominate control, so far as
price is concerned. the entire inter-
state
Instead of manufacturing it's pat
ented lasts and their parts exclusively,
Arnold Hinge Last company
issued license agreements to other
manufacturers in which the latter
agreed, it is said, to maintain the price
of all lasts in accordance with a
schedule Of prices furnished by the
former. The purpose of these agree
ments, it is charged, was to fix arbi-
trarily and unfairly high the price Of
both patented and unpatented lasts,
the latter forming about so per cent of
the business, SO as to enable the hinge
last company to exact an exorbitant
price for its patented lasts.
By the agreed decree, in which the
defendants disclaim all intention Of
violating the Sherman law, they are
restrained from continuing the alleged
unlawful features Of their agreements.
The governments petition. signed by
Attorney General Wickersham,. James
general, and Malcolm A. Coles, special
assistant, was filed by United States
Attorney clyde !. Webster.