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)

Page scan 000588 from 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 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 4
Leaf #:
000588
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:
September 12, 2024
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2438 Samuel H. Shirley, Cross Examination. Now, the one hundred and thirty-three were positive, and the balance is an estimate of what the independents do, except eleven or twelve theatres which are served by our Philadelphia branch, which is also an estimate, just taken from memory. Q. Then, of the two hundred and thirty-five, there are about one hundred and forty-four, or one hundred and forty-five, that you are sure are served by the General Film Company? A. That is, last Saturday night, when our record was taken. Q. And the balance, being about ninety, is an estimate that you have made up? A. Yes, sir. Q. As to the number of independent theatres there are? A. Yes, sir. Q. Now, this number, 90, which you have just given is your estimate of the entire number of independent theatres in all this territory which may be served from the Wilkes-Barre office? A. That is an estimate of the thirteen counties in which I principally do business in northeastern Pennsylvania. Q. Is Harrisburg in your district? A. Yes, sir. Q. And you have included in these ninety theatres the independent theatres located at Harrisburg? A. Yes; as an estimate. Q. Is that a town which may be served with the same facility by the Philadelphia office as by the Wilkes-Barre office? A. I believe, a little better from Philadelphia. I think the train service is a little better from Philadelphia than it is from Wilkes-Barre. Q. You are the only one that is serving, then, the theatres in that town? A. Not all of them. I am serving three — wait until I get that right — I am serving four in Harrisburg. Q. And how many theatres are there in Harrisburg? A I don't know the exact number. Approximately ten; that is only an estimation. I am not sure how many theatres there are. Q. How many theatres are served by the Philadelphia branch in Harrisburg? A. To my knowledge, the last time I had any information about the Philadelphia service there, one. Q. Harrisburg is an example, then, of a city or town where your branch and another branch of the General