The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-06-20
AGREEMENT NEAR
 IN CONTROVERSY
 OVER COCA-COLA
Friendly Proceedings to Pro- vide Dismissal of lnjunc- ton and Restoration of
 Old Relations
By Associated Press

Atlanta, June l9,--Steps will he taken during the week to put into legal form essentials of an agree memt reached late Saturday night by attorneys representing the Coca Cola cC mpany of Delaware and the Coca Cola bottling companies under which litigation between companies involv- ing the perpetuity of existing con tracts between them is settled, ac cording to information tonight. The provide Tor the dismissal of inlunc- ton proceedings now pending before
 the United States circuit court by consent of all parties and the old re- lations existing between the com l'anles prior to the litigation virtual " will be restored.
 One e the chief figures ln the nov. to settle the differences of the tWu co npanies was LUgene Stepson or New lOrA, Vice prCs4uvut oI enS nuarantee Irast cOmpaas, and uireu- tor CT the Ioea Cola co.lpany. I1r W No PRNSNA IA stb bAlS NOAtANh NAASS AASAN Saturuay HIsh. u. when l4.e agree meht Was rvdcnCu, wIn @nu ,ne ltl- gs.Iion wnlch has Ueen cd1rleu on .or more than year ln Doeh state anu federal courts.
 The agreement, It vas learned, pro Vides that the COea No4S company rGCobnIzes the conlvntiOA ot tnc so- called Irst-lIne botllvrs lnaI their contract with Lne Coca Iold company is valid anu also perpetual. Inc nrst-1ine bottlers, unuvr tnc agree luent, accept a reauJ Justmcnt oL the prlee the Coca CoIa company will charge them Tor syrup for oVttllns purposes. The bottiers wIll cohtiiiue l0 pay, for the present, the price nxed TOT the syrup by the eourts Tn d recent decision, wnicn Is al.V4a "a q gallon,
 VIII Reduce Price
 1t was aerea tnat when the pres ent stock oI sugar, bought at nish prices by the Coca Cola company uur- ing the sugar shortage, is exhausted the price of the syrup to the first line bottlers will be reduced to .17Ia d gallon, less cents q gal ion as credit for advertising expenses by the bottlers, making the actual price $1 1.12h gallon net.
 The differences between the Coca Cola company and the Coca Cola bot ting companies arose not d great while after Asa G. Candler, ST, and of his immediate family sold their control of coca-cola for s25, 900, ,0o0.
 The rcorganized company took the position that the contract under which the coca cola bottling con- panies enjoyed the exclusive bottlin.s rights was a contract at will ana could be cancelled on reasonable no- ice.
 The bottlng companies disputed this contention and claimed a per petual and exclusive right to the bot tling privileges in certain territory, most of continental United States. In support of their claims they cited the original contract eh tered into between the founder cf coca cola and the late J. E. White head, pioneer in the bottling indus try.
 After prolonged correspondence the bottlers instituted injunction pre- ,eedings in the Fulton superior court to prevent the Coca-Cola company rom disturbing the contractural re- Iations under which they had oh- aimed syrup for bottling purposes at , fixed and stated price.
 The hearing of the case was begun before Judge Pendleton but because ,f the injection of federal questions t was dismissed in the state courts md reinstituted in the United States court for the district of Delaware Inc domicile of the Coca-Cola com oany.