Evening star., 1942-11-26
APP. Chain indicted
On 0nhonopolYCharges
ByU.S. Grand !: Jury
Company Heods Coll
Arnold Allegations
Ridiculous, Vicious
By the Associated Press.

i
The Nations largest food chain
the Great Atlantic ds Pacific Tes
Co. group, was confronted today
with a Federal indictment charg.
ing conspiracy to 'monopolize 8
substantial part OF trade and com.
merce In food and food products"
A two-count true bill returned
yesterday by a Federal grand jury
at Dallas, Tex, promptly brought q
retort by II companies and Is ON
cials involved that the sdft was an
attempt to create further chaos
in; the wartime food situation.
The companys statement termed
the Governments. accusations "ri-
diculous and vicious" and said that
1--WE will disprove every charge Mr.
(Thurman) Arnold Chead Of the
Justice Departments antitrust di-
vision) has made"
The indictment, naming the New
York Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea
Co., Inc, parent OF the II other
companies. as the prime corporate
defendant, charged that the effect
OF the alleged conspiracy was to:
"Injure and destroy food manu-
facturers, professors, Gamers,
wholesalers and thousands OF inde-
pendent retail food dealers; to de-
press prices paid to growers of fresh
fruits, vegetables and other farm
crops - and to make it i'm
possible for thousands Of non-inte-
grated independents. and small
chains to remain in competition
with the defendants"
Operates 6,412 Stores.
The chain, the Justice Depart
ment said, operates 6,412 retail
stores in 3,436 communities and
contains the largest purchasers,
manufacturers, professors, whole
salers and retail distributors of food
and products in the Nation. It add
ed that sales of the group last year
aggregated $1,378, ,660,0 600, or 1917
per cent Of the total business OF
grocery and combination stores.
The Government cited eight meth
ods which 1t alleged the company
employed to control policies and
practices in the production, process
ing, manufacture and distribution.
both at wholesale and retail, OF food
and food products.
These methods were, alleged to
have:
1. Destroyed competition of inde-
pendent grocers, meat dealers and
small local food chains by selling at
prices lower than elsewhere in the
system. '7's
2. Systematically prevented COM
petition in selected-trade areas by
combining with local or national
food chains to fix retail prices.
8. Obtained a systematic discrimi-
natory buying preference over COM
petitors.
4. Coerced suppliers into grant
ing excessive and preferential dis
counts and rebates.
Needless Fees Alleged.
5. Charged brokerage and COM
mission fees on transactions with
growers. competing shippers and
jobbers even when no service was
given.
6. Engaged in the brokerage busi-
ness on the company's own account
and coerced sellers into paying a So
called brokerage fee on their own
purchases.
7. Fostered false comparison of
their prices with those charged by
competitors and secretly enhanced
actual prices above their advertised
prices through short-changing,
short-weighing and marking up
prices on store tags and purchases. :"
8. Shut off from competitors the
principal supply of coffee available
to the United States and artificially
increasing the coffee price by regis
tering for export from the largest
coffee producing country the entire
balance of the coffee quota available
for export in year, six months be-
fore the year terminated.
The company's statement said:
Every corner grocer and every
housewife in the United States of
America knows that there is no
monopoly in the food business. 1t
is the most competitive business in
America. -
Charges Called Ridiculous.
at would appear that these ridicu-
lous charges have been introduced
to support an Antitrust Division
theory that the people of the United
States have no right to patronize a
company If their patronage will
make the company grow
''Mr Arnold has had his field day
at Dallas. Before grand jury only
his accuse tions have been heard;
only his representatives are allowed
to appear: only one side of the case
Is represented. Because of this the
courts have held that none of these
charges can be presumed to be true
and in no way tend to discredit any,
one unless they are proved in court"
individuals named in the indict-
ment included George L. Hartford,
Montclair, N. j., and John A. Hart
ford, Westchester County, N. Y,
president and vice president of the
parent COMPANY.