New-York tribune., 1922-01-07
$lO0,OO0,OOO
Electric Bulb
Ring Charged
Untermyer Takes Up Light
Business, Charging Com
bine Has Had Country in
Its Grip for SIS Years
Rival Tells of Threats
Jersey Manufacturer Swears
General Electric Made
Him Curtail Business

laking up the eiectrlc Hght bu!b
business as it affects the housing sit
uation, Samuel Untermver charged be-
fore the Lockwood committee yester-
day that the General Electric Company
the production and distribution of in
candescent lamps.
"The presentation of the evidence
on this subject" said the committees
chief counsel, "is going to be a la
borious task. Tire tribute being paid
by the country on these bulbs to-day
is about S100oOo,0 900 a year. If we
are right in our contention. this mo-
nopoly has had us in its grip in one
form or another for fifty-fve years
and has been exacting extortionate
tribute from the people
Although the first patent was
granted in 1877 and expired in 1894,
think we will show that in one form
or another, in defiance of the judgment
of the courts, the grip of the General
Electric Company upon the bulb bust
ness of the whole United States is
stronger and frmer than it ever has
been in its history. A great deal of
our case is based largely on docu-
ments.'
Lamp Maker Testifies
Harvey Wilson Harper, president of
the Miniature Incandcsce~t Lamp Cor
poraticn, of Newark, n. j.. gave test
mony as a witness, supporting. in the
N.Y. T'ntnrrN,-orfc
said the General Electric Company con
trolled "90 pcr cent or better" Of the
output of miniature electric bulbs.
The company. in one instance. he
said, forced him to sell out a profitable
business by threatening costly litiga
ton. This business. he said. had been
returning him a profit Of S2oO0o year.
the company later offering him posi-
tion as manager OF the same plant at
$500 year
At another time, he testified when
MS business began to expand, a repre-
sentative OF the General Electric Com
pany told him he would clip his
wings and sad he would spend ST.
coG,ooO' to do il. Statesmen of The com
pany represented 10 Harper's custom
ers, the latter ch.rged, that Narper's
firm "would not lie able to teke care
OF their orders" Harper said he had
been dong business cf 81 100000 9
year, but that because of the General
,n;no,. o.o.n pan' hola on cer'aln
ca,,y.,f,r,s 1; ne was restricted by the
oa'1ps,nN Sennsono Incense TO business of
sAsooo0 year. Re said this was prac
ticailJ "throttling a business"
Realty Owners Heard
Before taking up the investigation of
the electric lamp business Mr.. Inter
myer permitted representatives of the
Ieal estate owners to place on the
record add1t'onal suggestions for thc
amendment - the present rent laws.
the extension Of which it is known the
Ionmi'.ee "ili soon recommend to the
Icy dsiatnie' Amcng these who offered
su:.s5ses'iohs were " Ill am D. kilpat-
, i.'h' ieai estate broker; Or. Theo-
uoIus bailey; also real estate in
ves.or, ana lanes q; Dudley, con-
suing engineer OF East ORANGE.
-. Was proposed by these witnesses
.nat 'ne qleS'l9n ci what is rea
sohaole rental should be taken out of
me hands CT the Judges CT suries and
si.en 20 a commission slr Inter
nSei ques'iohed the constitutlonality
VI suSh procedure. 1t ais was sug-
S.s,'" '"aI t"e returns or the land-
aoS soia shoulu QUE, ne eaiculated on the as,
tbs4 s4eo 'aroao. IN OF .he property and
ror & - 0lt,,i n.', rev IN VOID pe IL 12
i,'a,. pv. NV pIu't{ s,eges.eu tnc one
a;,, waS ~ Ie'.ess we housing sit alton
s,'h,,r,,, J",r oe ~ Le1 'ne people OUT INTO the
nai s. 10 rn.e' some sort OF munlcl-
f''' 's'0n'
Unions Meet Demands
Mr. Untermver read into the record
letter from the plumbers union noti-
h.ing him that Noay had removed from
office William f. Chairman, walls;nu
delegate; convicted of coercion. The
cord1,ca ,,'i.i' NJ p'Jq q ns .'sM' III &C
disonal;fv;no fro,n hold;:,. 9e'''a'."'
ma,,Ear n,.;o+aJ 4-J". ''os.,lis oniee an
ZION u;,l ,,;s ,Sa " U..e'se ~ epnnec-