Evening star., 1942-08-29

90. The money payments for the
benefit of competitors required by
the amended bylaws cannot be JUS
titled as being simply recompense
for values which these competitors
have contributed to the Associated
Press. The A. P. news which they
have received constituted full and
commensurate return for such con-
tributions as they have made to it
Thy furnishing local news or by pay
ment of annual assessments). The
value attaching to the exclusory
feature of A. ?. membership is the
product of the unlawful provisions
of the membership contract and
the requirement of payment to
competitors contained in the pres
ent bylaws thus represents an at
tempt by defendant members to
profit by their own wrong. Insofar
as the Associated Press, by accumu-
lating a reserve, has assets in ex-
cess of liabilities, it has never de-
manded Of new members that they
make proportionate contribution
In any event, such contribution
could not properly be computed ar
bitrarily, without reference to &C.
tual net worth, nor could it prop
erly be demanded on behalf of the
particular competitors of the new
member, but only on behalf of all
A. P. members alike.
Applicant Having Exclusive Right
To News Service May Be Barred.
&c. The third barrier against ad-
mission to membership which the
bylaws erect is the provision that
If there are one or more existing
memberships in the field in the city
of publication the applicant, even
If he has received the required af-
firmative majority, vote and has
paid over, for the benefit of COM
petitors, the amount stipulated by
the bylaws, shall not be admitted
to membership until he shall have
complied with the following require
ment:
The applicant shall relinquish any
exclusive right that he or it may
have, by contract or otherwise, to
any news or news picture services
that are being made available to the
applicant at the. time of the filing of
his application for membership, by
any other person, firm or corpora
ton, and, when requested to do so
by any member or members in the
| field In the city in which the appli-
cant has been elected to member
ship, the applicant shall require the
said news or news picture services,
or any of them, to be furnished to
such member or members, upon the
same terms as they are made avail
able to the applicant.
100. Under the above provision an
applicant, If he has any exclusive
right to news or news picture serv-
Ice. may be barred from member
ship unless he is able to induce the
person or corporation furnishing
such service to supply the same
upon equal terms of competitive A. p
members. An A. p. member whit
ayails himself of the benefit result
ing from enforcement of this re.
quirement Is under no reciprocal
obligation, if he himself has any
exclusive right to a news or news
picture service, to make this avail
able to the applicant for admission.
RECENT EXCLUSION OF APpLI.
CANTS FOR MEMBERSHIP.
101. The combination and con-
spiracy and other illegal concerted
action hereinbefore described were
not materially altered or in any re-
spect abandoned as the result of the
| change in the bylaws at the 1942
annual membership meeting, which
change, as previously stated, was
made in the light of possible pro-
ceedlngs by the Government at
tacking the legality of the bylaws
Defendants continued their policy
and practice Of excluding competi-
ton offered. At this meeting, after
the bylaws had been changed, they
applied this policy by rejecting by a
vote of more than to /, three ap-
pllcations for membership which
were then submitted to the vote of
the members. The vote on one was
684 opposed, 287 favorable; the vote
on the other two, presented by the
same applicant, was 514 opposed,
242 favorable.
102. The first of these applications
for membership had been filed In
September, 1941, by Marshall Field
as the sole ewner of morning paper
to be published in Chicago (which
began publication December 4, 1941,
under the name of the Chicago SUM
Two A. P. members holding protest
rights" in the noorpipo foIJ ~ NJ;