Evening star., 1954-12-03
Antitrust Suit
Against du Pont
And GIN Killed
U. S. Rubber Cleared;
Judge Finds No Plot
To Restrain Trade
BY the Associoied Press

CHICAGO. Dec. 3.-A civil
antitrust suit against the
wealthy du Pont family, its huge
chemicals firm, General Motors
and United States Rubber was
dismissed today by United States
District Judge Walter j. LaBuy.
Judge LaBuy, ending a long
civil trial, said the Government
had failed to prove conspiracy,
monopolization, a restraint Of
trade, or any reasonable prob
ability of a restraint"
The decision was widely
watched by business interests as
a vital ruling in the current
period of industrial corporation
mergers.
The Judge held: There has
been no conspiracy to restrain
or to monopolize trade. and no
restriction or monopolization Of
the market"
''The essence of the conspiracy
and restraint which the Govern
ment charged and sought to
prove in this case" he said, "is
the alleged limitation on Gen.
eral Motors ability to deal as it
pleased with competitors of du
Pont and United States Rubber"
Nm Restraint on GM.
Judge La Buys opinion said,
"The court finds that there has
not been, nor is there at present.
a conspiracy to restrain or to
monopolize trade, and no limita-
ton or restraint upon General
Motors freedom to deal freely
and fully with competitors Of
du Pont and United States
Rubber"
He continued: There is no
limitation or restraint upon the
freedom of General Motors to
deal with its chemical discoveries.
no restraint or monopolization Of
the General Motors market, and
no restraint or monopolization
of the trade and commerce be-
tween du Pont and United States
Rubber"
The Government has described
the action as the biggest anti
trust case in United States his
tory. Willis L. Hotchkiss, the
Governments chief attorney at
the start of the trial, said it
would dwarf all previous fanti-
trust) cases in its magnitude. "
Tom Clark, now an associate
Supreme Court justice, was At
torney General when the suit
was filed in 1949. He said then
that it was aimed at breaking
up the largest single concentra-
tion of economic power in the
United States"
Stock Interests Untouched.
In addition to du Pont, Gen.
eral Motors and United States
Rubber the Governments civil
suit was against three du Pont
holding companies and 33 mem
bers of the du Pont family.
The Government had asked
the judge. who heard the long
trial without jury. to force
the du Points to dispose of their
stock interest in General Mo-
tors and United States Rubber.
Government attorneys had
claimed the du Points bought
General Motors and United
States Rubber stock so du Pont
products could be sold to those
huge firms with little COMPETE
ton from makers of similar
products.
The du Points contended they
bought the stock in the two
companies because the pur-
chases were good investments,
and asserted du Pont salesmen
had to hustle for whatever busi-
ness they got from General Mo.
tors and United States Rubber.
Decision Delivered Under Guard.
Four armed guards today de-
livered printed copies of the de-
cision to Judge La Buys cham.
bers in the Federal Courthouse.
The bulky shipment was brought
in an armored truck of Drinks,
Inc, from the firm which printed
the opinions. The shipment of
1900 copies required nine large
packages.
Judge La Buy read the de-
ciSion in a courtroom filled with
lawyers. None of the du Pont
family members was present.
Only one of the three principal
du Pont family members named
in the action when it was filed
in 1949 survives. He is Irenee.
n. The other two were his broth
ers, Pierre S., who died a few
months ago at the age of SO, and
(See DU POINT, Page A-20