The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1920-12-31
LAW EVASION
BY TOBACCO men
The Federal Trade Commission
Claims Companies Are Drifting
Back to Forbidden Practices.
EVIDENCE TO ATTY. GENERAL.
Commission Also Makes Recommends
lions to Prevent Possible Viola
tions of Clayton
Act.

Neutrality-suspicious. of the compa'
MES organized to take over the Ameri'
can Tobacco Company after it's disso,
luton in 1911, under the Antitrust
laws, according to the Federal Trade
Commission, are drifting back into
forbidden practices. This was dlscOv-
cred in an Investigation of prices paid
tobacco growers in 1919, report of
which has been submitted to the house
of representatives in response to a
resolution.
The commission announced that It
would give further consideration to
possible violations of the Clayton act,
and also that at an early date evil
dence will be made available to the
Department of Justice "as to the pos
sible violation of the decree entered
in November, 1911, as a result of the
dissolution suit"
Two suggestions were made for
strengthening the decree, as follows :
"That the provision relating to the
use of common agencies by the de-
PENDANT companies in the purchase of
leaf tobacco, which expired by limita-
ton November, 1916, be revived and
made permanent. That the provision
relating to the defendant companies
doing business unter any other than
their own corporate name or that of
subsidiary corporation controlled by
them be made specific, so as to include
the purchase of leaf tobacco through
agencies not disclosed to the trade"
The purchasing methods Of large
buyers were one Of three causes to
which the commission attribute de-
clines in prices for the 1919 crop. The
other two were the lessening of for
eign purchases and contraction of do
grades for domestic absorption due to
crop conditions and falling foreign
markets. The commission found that
prices paid growers for 1920 com
pared favOrably with prices for the
previous year
The commissions inquiry found
what was described as violations Of
the spirit of the decree" and viola
lions of the decree" Discussing the
former 1t was pointed out that the
companies were enjoined for five
years, or until November, 1916, from
retaining or employing the same agent
or agents "for the purchase in the
United States of tobacco leaf or other
raw material for the safe in the Unit
ed States of tobacco or other products
as that of any other of said corpora
TONS"
"In 1918" said the commission, the
American Tobacco Company the Lor-
Hard Company, the Liggett * Myers
Tobacco Company, the Il. J. Reynolds
Tobacco Company, the Weyman-Bar-
ton Company and the Export Leaf
Tobacco Company, a subsidiary of the
Tobacco Company,
all purchased on direct order through
the Universal Company or its sub
salaries, All Of the companies noted
above, and, in addition, the George w.
Helme Company, purchased tobacco
from the Universal Company In 1918
1919 a large number Of Instances are
cited showing orders through sub
salaries Of the Universal.
The commission said that if these
had occurred prior to
1916 they would have been in violation
of the decree Attention was directed
to the fact that the Universal and In
tpruatioual yvprp orfr1Dizpd SOON oftar
the tiye-year limitation ended, also
that several officials of the Universal
Company were formerly connected
with some of the larger interests"