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Show TO DISSOLVE KODAK TRUST Government Files Suit Against the Eastman Company for Monopolizing Monop-olizing the Trade in Photographic Supplies Sup-plies Concern's President Pres-ident Says Conditions Will Be Adjusted Buffalo, N" Y., June 9. Dissolution of the so called 1 Bastman Kodnk trust" was asked in a civil suit filed here today by order of Attorney Gen oral McReynolds. The federal gov eminent seeks the dissolution by receivership re-ceivership If necessary, of the Eastman East-man Kodak Com pan J of New Jersey and the Bastman Kodak company of New York, which are charged with monopolising the trade in photograph" It supplies. It Is the aim of the government to obtain a division of the assets and business of tho two companies, controlling con-trolling 71' per cent of the business in the United State?, into such parts as will destroy the alleged monopoly and restore competition. The petition in equity nsks for an injunction forbid-dlnc forbid-dlnc the fixing of re-sale prices ur cameras, films and other patented photographic supplies. This mark! the attorne) generals first application of the recent derision of the United States Bupreme court denying de-nying patentees the right to fix resale re-sale prices of retailers. Following are named as defendants. Bastman Kodak company of New Jersey Bastman Kodak companv of New York George Eastman, Henry Strong Waller S Huhbell and Frank S N -ble ill of Rochester. N I The bill filed by United States Attorney At-torney O'Brien Is the result of an extensive Investigation of the "trust' ! by James A Fowler assistant lo the '. attorney general, and Clark MoKer-J MoKer-J cher. special assistant attorney general. gen-eral. Mr McKercher is in Immediate charge of the suit. The alleged monopol has been 8C-complished. 8C-complished. the petition declares, by ' the- Ka6tman companies absorbing or J acquiring control of a great number of competitors in the United States ami foreign countries Complaint is made that retail or htock houses owned h the Eastman companies, are conducting under tho I names of the original owners as competitors com-petitors of the "trust." Unfair competition is charged through the alleged practice of the Kastman companies In marketing through one of its competitors, tho defendant company (Rochester), a certain film as If It were the product of an independent, suppressing the fact that it is made by the combination combina-tion The Eastman company of New Jersey, Jer-sey, " holding Company, has an authorized au-thorized capital of $85,000,000, of which 126,000,000 has boon Issued The Bastman Kodak companv of New York, the operating company of the combination. Is a $5.000,00nn for man ufacturing and marketing photographic photograph-ic supplies. Will Adjuat the Conditions Rochester, N. Y.. June 9, The Fast-man Fast-man Kodak company will adjust its methods of doing business to meet 1 the charges preferred against the company In the government's disso- lntion suit, filed today at Buffalo George Eastman, president of the company, so announced here on receipt re-ceipt of the news that suit had been begun. Mr Eastman Indicated, however, how-ever, that tho company would refuse to dissolve. "While in the formal part of the petition filed by the government there is a prayer for dissolution, as Is usual. I am informed, In all such cases," said Mr Eastman, "It Is believed that full compliance with the main specific de-I de-I mands for changes of trade methods I freely offered by this company will successfully meet all criticism and satisfy the trade at large and the government "Aside from the economic principles princi-ples which would be violated by such dissolution It can clearly be shown that if the United States is to keep its lead In the photographic art which It has maintained for the last twent years and meet competition compe-tition In the markets of the world, the co-ordination of the manufacture of films, plates, papers and cameras must be continued. No concern that is unable to furnish products In all of these lines, adapted one to the other, can hop to compete with the great foreign manufacturers who are straining every effort In similar directions di-rections In compliance with the governments govern-ments petition, th e company according accord-ing to Mr Eastman, intends hereafter to operate its various retail stock houses under Its own name and add Its name to their stationery and advertising ad-vertising matter It will also put its name upon Its stencil goods and abandon Its "exclusive sales polh "One of the main points of this policy (respecting dealers in our patented pat-ented goods handling no other similar goods) has been to prevent the substitution sub-stitution of goods that are inferior to ours to unsuspecting customers, said Mr. Eastman. "However, desiring desir-ing to avoid a long aiid expensive litigation the waste of time of our most Important men and the unsettling unset-tling of normal business conditions, we are willing to meet the wishes of the government, even on this point " rtrt |