The New York herald., 1922-03-14
GAS LAMP SELLERS
INDICTED AS TRUST
Three Companies and Eight
Persons Accused of Price
Boosts in 200 Cities.

Three, corporations and eight individ-
uals have been indicted on charges OF
criminally conspiring to monopolize and
restrain the gas lamp trade and to
boost prices Of gas lamps and mantles
in 200 cities throughout the United
States, it was learned yesterday when
the report of the Federal Grand Jury
made last Friday was released from
seal. The corporations and individuals
indicted were:
The United Gas Improvement Com
pany of Philadelphia and its president.
Samuel T. Bodine; Randall Morgan.
vice-president of the same company:
the Welsbach Company and its presi-
dent. Sidney Mason; the Cities Illumi-
mating Company and a director. Will
lam Findlay Brown. who also Is an
Assistant District Attorney in Phila-
delphia: Arthur e. Shore, vice-presi-
dent, and Eugene F. Newbold, presi-
dent. of the same company; Charles
Patterson. president of the Patterson
Street Lighting Company of Minne-
apolis and st. Paul. and George M.
Landers of New Britain. Conn.
Mr.. Mason. the only defendant to
appear in the United States District
Court. was held in bail of $4,000 by
Judge Mack on his plea Of not guilty.
Mr.. Morgan Is in Florida and Mr.. Pat
terson is in st. Paul and orders were
issued for them to furnish the same
amount of bail each in their respec-
tive judicial districts and to appear
here next Monday for pleading to the
Indictment
The Federal Grand Jury which had
been considering the case for a month
was under the guidance Of Judge Webb,
who ordered the indictment sealed be-
fore he left here to go to his home
in South Carolina. 1t was released yes
terday on the motion of r. Cotton Lewis
and w. r. Benham, special attorneys
to the United States Attorney General
who prepared the cases for the Govern
ment.
The three companies under indictment
have their main offices In Philadelphia,
and are charged with having conspired
to restrain trade and to boost prices
through an illegal combination. At
torneys for each company entered
formal pleas OF not guilty.
The complainants were owners of
street lighting patents. who charged
that they had been driven out OF busi-
ness by the companies under indictment.
Ragland Momand. president of the Pres
street, headed the list of complainants.
According to Mr.. Momand. the COM
bine had attempted to raise the price of
$4,000 street lamps used in Brooklyn
from s12 to $3.50. Figures showing
the various jumps in prices in various
cities were included in the papers filed.
In ST. Paul it is charged that the price
on 5000 lamps used there has been
raised from $40 to $3.50 within the
last two years. in st. Louis from s12
to s16.S4 on $4,000 lamps. and in Ealti-
more. where $4,000 lamps are used. the
price went from $40 to $14.60.
The specific charges in the indict-
ment are that the defendants obtained
control of large number of valuable
patents and then used these and ex-
cluded others from being used: that
they acquired and combined competing
companies, instituted unwarranted and
vexatious litigation against competing
companies to compel them to drop out
OF the field of competition; that they en-
tered into a collusive bidding to deceive
public officials: that they purchased
secret control of competing companies
and then denied the ownership OF said
companies in deceiving public officials
and that misleading and false state
ments were circulated regarding COM
peting companies and that some of these
companies were eventually bought In
and then maintained ostensibly as COM
petitors 10 deceive public officials.
The United Gas Improvement Com
pany was specifically charged by Mr..
Momand with having induced city Off
cials all over the country to make con-
tracts for lighting without holding public
bidding. or II this were required. entered
a lot of dummy bids to deceive other
bidders and award the contract to a
member of the combine" He charged
that methods employed by the combine
cost the city OF Yonkers 10000 more for
lighting on a five year contract made in
1917 than 1t would have paid il there
had been omen competition.