OCR Text |
Show I S Govern men! j in Civil Snit, AI- I leges That Periodical Pub- I Ushers' Pact Is Illegal. 1 DISSOLUTION OF COMBINE I OBJECT OF PROCEEDINGS I Agents Forced to Discriminate Against Journals Outside I the "Clearing House." S NEW YORK, .Tunc 27. A clvjl suit was if filed !n tlic United Stntos court today for ft the dissolution of the Periodical clearing house and about a score of other maga- jf zlno defendants. The petition, filed hy ) District Attorney Wine, alleges unlawful K combination and conspiracy to restrain tj Interstate trade and foreign commerce In j magazine and other periodical publlca-tions. publlca-tions. jk The petition charges I ha I the defend- 5 ants, since July. 1009, have been engaged ft In an Illegal cnmblnutlon, a, dissolution of B which Is aslccd for. K The proceeding In equity Is against the ffi Periodical clearing hous" Doubloday, In Page & Co.; Crowell Publishing company, m S. S. McClure & Co., Current Lltcraturo 9 Publishing company. Phillips Publishing If company. Harper & Brothers, Lcslle-jiN Lcslle-jiN Judge company, Review of Reviews com-jjj. com-jjj. pany, International Magazine company, Hi New Publication company. Butterlck K Publishing company, Standard Fashion ly company. New Idea. Publishing company, T Rldgeway company, American Home f Mngazlno comi)any. llmltel. hereinafter hi referred as defendant, publishers: Frank a N. Doubledav. Herbert S. Houston, Fred's Fred-'s erlek L. Collin?, Charles D. Lunier and , George Von I'tassy. The Periodical clearing house., In tho pe-I pe-I tltlon, is described as i corporation cr-1 cr-1 ganlzed under the laws of the state of i New York, carrying on business through-!.? through-!.? nut the United Slates and foreign na-Kj na-Kj tlons, with its offices and principal place jS of business in this city. Its authorized J, capital slock Is of the par value of $2000, fc? consisting of "twentv shares of the par ij value of $100 each, of which fourteen are iJ issued and outstanding. SJi The Suburban Press, a New York cor-'3 cor-'3 porarlon; Good Housekeeping, a Mnssa-f Mnssa-f chusetts corporation, and Hampton's Rw Magazine, a New York corporation, to-K, to-K, gethcr with the defendants, are tho stocks' stock-s' holders of record of tho defendant if periodical dearing house; Doublcday, S Collins. Houston, Lanier and Von Utassy fU constitute its board of directors. and tl Houston. VonOUtnssy and Lanier are ro-lj ro-lj spectively its president, vlco president 'I and secretary-treasurer The officers of the periodical clearing house are officials also of one or another of the defendant jl corporations engaged in the publication Ijf of magazines. C The petition recites that prior to July, ft 1000. there were upwards of 20,000 cor-porailons cor-porailons and individuals publishing and u selling periodicals in free competition, but ;l - thut following the organization of the l periodical clearing house in July. 1J09. Lr notes were sent to subscription agencies J and agents "notifying them that they It would have to sign the contract with the I periodical clearing house If such agen-tu agen-tu cles intend to conduct further business j with the 'members' of said periodical I4 clearing house." !fr The petition then recites thai the pe-C pe-C rlodical clearing house prepared a so K railed "officlul price list'" of magazines i nnd periodicals containing rules governor govern-or Ing sales of subscriptions, and "the ii publishers wholesale price list." ffi The petition continues: It "The contracts force upon thoso agents ft and reciulrc them to sell all periodicals s not listed in the aforesaid lists at regu-tj regu-tj latlon publication' prices without any reduction whatsoever. The publishers of :S many of the periodicals listed in said ft lists have been and arc willlnc that the S agencies shall sell their periodic"!1-- to the IS public at prices less than those od by & the defendants in said price lists, but ml said agencies have been and are pre-R pre-R vented by the aforesaid contracts from i selling such subscriptions at less than Jl the prices fixed by the defendants set M forth In said lists." hi It is alleged that the clearing house had "j a systom of fines for-lftendlng agents. |