Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 79, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 June 1906 — FINED $20,000 AS A “TRUST." [ARTICLE]

FINED $20,000 AS A “TRUST."

Harvester Company Settle* for . Breaking the Arkansas Law. The International Harvester Company surrendered to the State of Arkansas rather than stand trial on an indictment of violating the anti-trust laws of that State, The company, through a representative in Chicago; agreed to plead guilty and pay a fine%f SIO,OfM) on each of two counts, making $20,000. The costa, it is said, will amount to $5,000 more. A year ago the State of Arkansas collected $20,000 in fines from an eastern insurance company. The “exclusive contract clause” forbidding agents to handle anything but the agricultural implements manufactured by the trust formed the basis of the harvester prosecution. The company admitted that this clause was in their contracts. It also admitted that it existed in the contracts for some time after an extremely stringent anti-trust law was passed in Arkansas in March, 1905. The harvester company, while acknowledging that the exclusive contract clause existed in agreements with its agents in Arkansas for some months in 1905, representatives of the corporation said that it had since been stricken from contracts in all States. Texas, Missouri and Michigan, like Arkansas, have strong anti-trust laws. There were two eases, -ono against the International Harvester Company and the other against the International Harvester Company of America. Each corporation, -under—a compromise, admitted to doing business in violation of the law for fifty days. The fine is S2OO a day, making a total fine of $20,000. Attorney General Rogers left Chicago for Little Rock with the $20,000 check, highly elated over his victory. He said: “We are getting to like twisting the tail% of the trusts. We have now beaten the life insurance and harvester people. I think we will begin at once to go after several others that are openly violating the law.”