Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-07-02
CEMENT MEN WILL
BE SUED BY j. s.

WASHINGTON, June So.-Attor-
ney General Daugherty announced
today that civil proceedings charg-
/ ing violation of the antitrust law
would be instituted today in the fed
eral court at New York against the
association and its officers and
members. He said members of the
association produced approximately
| 80 per cent of the total Portland ce-
ment used in the northeastern sec
ton of the United States.
| Nineteen concerns belonging to the
association are named as defendants
| in the suit, which is supplementary
| to criminal action brought against
| the same association several months
| ago under the Sherman law. The
members Of the association control
33~1-3 per cent of the total quantity
of cement produced in the United
States, according to Mr.. Daugherty.
The suit is the first open act of
| the Harding administration against
| the open price associations which
recently were condemned by the fed
eral trade commission in a special
report to President Harding.
Other ard similar suits will be
filed soon by the Justice department,
Mr.. Daugherty indicated.
Mr.. Daugherty said the proceed
| ings would supplement criminal ac-
tons instituted last March and would
rot in any way stop prosecution of
| the pending criminal case. The
court might order, he said, an eff
fectiVe dissolution of the combina-
/ ton and enjoin it's members from re-
constituting their association, there
| and practical relief" without regard
| to results in the criminal case.
Names of Members
Among the companies having mem
| bership in the Cement association
are:
The Atlas Portland Cement COM
| pany, the Allentown Portland Cement
! company, the Alpha Portland Cement
| company, the Bath Portland Cement
| company, the Coplay Cement Manu-
| featuring company, the Dexter Port
| land Cement company, the Edison
Portland Cement company, the Giant
Portland Cement company, Glens
| Falls Portland Cement company, the
| Hercules Cement corporation, the
| Knickerbocker Portland Cement COM
| pany, Inc, Lawrence Cement com
| pany, the Lehigh Portland Cement
company, Nazareth Cement company P
| Penn-Allen Cement company, Penn
sylvania Cement company Phoenix
| Portland Cement company, Security
| Cement and Lime company, the Vui-
canite Portland Cement company. -.
"The activities of the defendants
said the governments petition, nave
resulted in eliminating every sem
| blance Of competition to which the
| public is entitled, which the law CON
| templates and which, but for the
| combination and conspiracy de-
| scribed, the defendants in the manu-
facture and sale of Portland &C.
ment."
members of the association pro
duce 3O,0O0,000 barrels of cement an
nually," Mr.. Daughterty said.
Eddy Plan Charged
| "The association is organized un'
| der the Eddy plan or what is some
| times known as new competition the
open price PLAN or the open com.
| petition PLAN The forms of these
| plans vary in minor details, but the
| outstanding SSnd fundamental prin'
| cipIe Of all is that the exchange be
| tween members of comprehensive
| statistical data which enables eacf
| to know what his competitors is do
| ing. For some time past the inVes
| tigation of every complaint Of an al
| legged violation of the Sherman anti
| trust law has invariably led to the
| door of one of these associations
| GAS soon as the association begins
| TO function properly the price OF the
| commodity in which its members
| deal begin to advance and the Gus
| tomary signs of competition dlsap
| pear"