New-York tribune., 1919-04-01
Corn Products
Anti Trust Suit
Ends by Agreement
Company Reaches Under
standing With Govern
ment; Must Sell Several
Plants; Keep Trade Marks

Judge Learned Hand in the United
States District Court yesterday signed
decree of settlement in the govern
ment antitrust suit brought against
the Corn Products Refining Company
on November 80 1916
Z. T. Bedford, presidents after sign
ing the decree said that while it was
more drastic than the company ex-
pected, it left intact the integrity of
its trade marks, except those owned
by the National Starch Company. 81
think it is fair settlement in the
interest of the shareholders" he added
Under the decree of the Federal
court the company, in addition to the
National Starch Company, must sell
before 1921 plants at Granite City and
davenport, ILL.,; two candy plants at
Jersey City and Chicago Disposal of
these plants will reduce the daily corn
grinding capacity of the company by
about 80 600 bushels, Mr.. Bedford said
The plants mentioned must be sold
to a competitive buyer approved by the
court. If not sold by 1921 they will
be put up at auction under court
order The earnings of the plants
affected by the settlement decree last
year, Mr.. Bedford said, were equivalent
70 the entire prewar earnings of all
the properties owned or controlled by
the Corn Products Company. The
candy plants alone, he declared, showed
profit of $1,000,0 900, of which $780,
900 was paid out in taxes.
The sale of the plants involved in
the decree signed yesterday, according
to Mr.. Bedford, will not be followed
by reorganization or readjustment
of the capital of the parent corpora
ton.
Earlier in the day the United States
Supreme Court at Washington had dis
missed the appeals brought by the
company in the proceedings. Dis
patches from the capital stated that
the suit was dismissed by agreement
between the government and the de-
fendant, following similar action re-
Gently in the case of the International
Harvester Company.
In the Corn Products suit the gov
ernment charged that the company
with its subsidiary concerns engaged
IN Unfair competition, fixing prices fot
its products and gaming other advan-
tages over competitors through the
payment of freight rebates on ship
ments of starch, glucose, grape sugar
and other products.
After voluminous testimony had been
taken judgment was rendered in the
Federal court here against tie de-
PENDANTS restraining them from re-
Stunning the practices cited and order
ing dissolution along the general lines
ordered in the International Harvester
case. Appeals were taken to the Su-
preme Court in 1917 bUt oyvinr m
unsettled business conditions due to
the war the government asked that the
hearing of the case be postponed.
The merger of the Corn Products
properties was effected in 1906, the
parent corporation owning 100 per cent
Of the stock of its subsidiaries. At
that time, Mr.. Bedford said, the com
pany's output was more than 80 per
cent of the country's total of starch,
glucose and other corn products, but
now it is only SO per cent. All the
company's competitors, he stated, had
recently united in recommending to
the Department of Justice that the
dissolution suit be settled in the in
terest of the industry as a whole.
Before the announcement of the
terms of the settlement decree were
made public yesterday Corn Products
stock advanced on the Stock Exchange
to new high record price of 6OA but
later reacted to SO. Last week the
stock gained more than five points.