The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-04
CIVIL SUIT is FILED
AGAINST BURROUGHS
ADDING MACHINE CO.
S., 500, 900 Concern Charged
With Adopting Unfair
Prices in Sitting
Competition


Detroit. March "A civil anti trust
suit filed here today by order of At
torney General Wickersham charging
the Burroughs Adding Machine COM
pany with monopolizins interstate and
foreign trade in adding machines and
appliances. was followed Immediately
by the entry of an agreed decree ter
mlnating alleged unfair practices to
stifle competition.
The s5,50o,o00 company was ordered
to instruct its agents in writing TO
desist from interfering with compet-
itors and was forbidden to acquire q
controlling interest in any competing
concern without the consent of the
court.
The following were named as de-
fendants:
The Burroughs Adding Machine COM
pany of Michigan. the Burroughs Adj
ding Machine company of Missouri, Jo-
seph Boyer, Benjamin G. Chapman,
Claiborne w. Gooch, Alvan Macauley,
Emil p. Wenger, Andrew ]. Lauver,
Frank Fl. Dodge, Albert S. Hermann,
e. st. Elmo Lewis, James C. Walker,
Alfred J. Doughty and Charles Mack
lin. all of Detroit; Edward Rector and
Joseph r. Gillen of Chicago, Henry
Wood, Gustavus A. Butcher and Mar
Gus n. Etltn VI ot LOUIS w dlltT Ii.
Nanny, Larchmont, N. Y; Frank $.
Wheeler. New York city; Louis A.
Hennick. Boston; p. K. Russell, Min
neapolis: A. w. SAKE, Pittsburg, and
Frederick r. Miller, Oklahoma City,
Okla The company was accused of
acquiring and suppressing the Uni
versal and Pike Adding Machine COM
panies and of attempting TO acquire
and suppress the Autograph manu-
e. .~.s, \ Al NJon xftx.
panies. 1t was alleged that defend
ants maintained a sales department
embracing q special force of men to
suppress competition.
Boyer Makes Statement
Joseph Boyer, president of the Bur-
roughs Adding Machine company, to-
night made the following statement:
I'VE have heard rumors for some
time that agents of the government
were making inquiries respecting the
conduct of our business and apparent
ly endeavoring TO secure evidence to be
used against us under the anti-trust
law; but believing that these inquiries
and efforts were prompted solely by
our competitors and not being con
sclous of over having violated the
Sherman law or any other. or of hav-
ing been guilty of any unfair or ufl-
lawful competition we paid no atten-
tion to the matter.
Quite recently, however. when we
learned that the government was pre-
pairing to bring suit against us, based
upon Misrepresentation which had
been made, we at once took up the mat
ter with officials and satisfied them
that if there ever had been any viola
tion of the anti trust laws on orr
part it was purely techinacl and that
the charges which had been made
against US were either wholly un-
-founded or were based upon isolated
instances of indiscretion on the part OF
over jealous salesmen,s without the
knowledge of the company and in yio-
lation of its instructions and policy.
"Under these circumstances an anic-
able arrangement with the government
was effected which has now been car
ried out by the filing OF a suit and the
entry by consent of a formal decree
which satisfies the government and
does not in any way interfere with
the conduct of our business as We al
ways have desired and intended to
have it conducted.