In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants (1913)

Record Details:

Title:
In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants
Date:
1913
Publisher:
New York, Appeal Printing Co.
Volume:
In the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States of America, petitioner, vs. Motion Picture Patents Company, et al., defendants : record volume 1
Leaf #:
000548
Language:
English
Collection:
Government & Law and Early Cinema
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
The Museum of Modern Art Library, New York
Sponsor:
Media History Digital Library
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
These seven volumes contain the testimonies and supporting documents from the U.S. District Court's antitrust lawsuit against the Motion Picture Patents Company (MPPC). Formed in 1908, the MPPC (sometimes referred to asœ"the Edison Trust" or just "the Trust") sought to control the American film industry through pooling patents and demanding that producers and exhibitors acquire licenses to those patents. Independent producers and exhibitors, who refused to license the patents, argued that the MPPC was an unlawful monopoly. In 1912 and 1913, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania heard testimonies from both MPPC members, such as Siegmund Lubin, and "Independents" who later became Hollywood moguls, such as William Fox. Ultimately, in 1915, the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which found the MPPC in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and spelled the end for the already weakening MPPC. -- Eric Hoyt, 2012
Date Added:
May 23, 2024
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52G William H. Swanson, Cross Examination. 1 By Mr. Willis: Q. What did you do with that money? I don't mean to say what you invested it in. Did you deposit it in banks? A. Some deposited in banks. Some placed in safe deposit boxes. Q. Safe deposit boxes? A. Yes, sir. Q. Well, would you keep a bank account in each of these separate places where you had exchanges? A. Sometimes more than one. Sometimes as many as three and four. 2 Q. Now, I want you to tell me the name of the bank in which the St. Louis gross receipts were deposited, the banks, bank or trust companies. I want you to give me the names of the banks, bank or trust companies, that the gross receipts that Omaha exchange receipts were deposited in. I want you to give me the names of the bank, banks or trust companies in which the New Orleans gross receipts were deposited in, and I want you to give me the name of the bank, banks or trust companies in which the gross receipts of William H. Swanson & Company of Chicago were deposited. Will you do that? A. 3 I will do so to the best of my ability. I do not know as I can give you the accurate list. Q. When will you be able to do that? A. I cannot do it any better at any other time than I can right now. Q. Will you give it to me, then? A. Without going into investigation, which will take considerable time, I could not give it to you, however, accurately. I will have to take other peoples' word for it. I would not know if they told me other peoples' names, whether they were correct or not. 4 Mr. Grosvenor: The witness having stated he was willing to give the names now, to the best of his recollection, I would suggest to counsel that he ask for the names if he cares for them, and I also instruct the witness that there is no duty upon him to go and make a search at some later time for the names, for the benefit of counsel for the defendants, this cross examination being unduly protracted and relating to none of the issues in the case. That is, what the private personal bank ac