Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 77, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 February 1909 — WEED IN GRASP OF CAPITALISTS [ARTICLE]

WEED IN GRASP OF CAPITALISTS

Smith Makes Report on the Tobacco Industry. STATEMENTS ARE AMAZING Combination Represents a Total Net Capitalization of Over $316,000,000 Ten Stockholders Control 60 Per Cent of the Outstanding Voting Stock of the American Tobacco Company Through Which Concern the Entire Combination Is Managed. Washington, Feb. 26. Herbert Knox Smith, commissioner of corporations, has made public subdivisions 2 and 3 of part 1 of his report on the to-'' bacco Industry. They deal with the pi esent organization of the-tobacco combination. He says: "In the combination are the American Tobacco company and its three great subsidiary combinations, the American Snuff company, the American Cigar company, and the BritishAmerican company, besides eighty-two other subsidiary concerns doing business in the United States, Porto Rico and Cuba. The combination represents r total net capitalization of over $316,000,000. A group of ten stockholders controls 60 per cent of the outstanding voting stock of the American Tobacco company, through which company the entire combination is controlled.” A list of the subsidiary' companies controlled, “including over twenty hitherto secretly controlled, so-called ‘bogus independent concerns,* ” is given. The report says: “Many weak concerns have been virtually driven out of business or forced to sell out to the combination, either by reason of direct competition or as an indirect result of the vigorous competition between the combination and larger Independent concerns.”