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 000594 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 #:
000594
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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2444 Herbert C. Wales, Cross Examination. you can serve you endeavor to get the business of that theatre? A. Not if I consider it in his territory; no, sir. Q. Are there any towns in which you have customers where another branch also has customers? A. There are only two, to the best of my knowledge — Syracuse and Utica, both in New York State. Q. You testified on direct examination that there were from 370 to 420 theatres in your territory. How did you arrive at that estimate? A. We keep as close a record as possible of the number of houses in our territory; that is, we keep a list, a circularizing list. Q. And you circularize the theatres in Syracuse? A. Some of them. Q. And the theatres in Syracuse are included in that number? A. Yes, sir. Q. That is, as going to make up that total of 370? A. They are included in that total, yes, sir. Q. Is Syracuse the largest city in your district outside of Albany? A. Syracuse is the largest city in our district. Q. Did you refresh your recollection by examining this list before testifying on direct examination, that there are from 370 to 420 theatres in your territory? A. I did not refresh my memory immediately before. Before I left Albany, of course, I made up a memorandum. Q. Did you bring your memorandum with you? A. I have a memorandum with me, yes, sir. Q. And will you let me see it? A. No, I have not the memorandum, Mr. Grosvenor. It is at the hotel. At the McAlpin Hotel. I have a memorandum of the Syracuse houses. Q. How many houses are there in all in Syracuse? A. About 53. Q. Do you do business in any towns in which one of the branches of the General Film Company located in New York City, does business? A. There is one town that I know of only, that is Newburgh, New York. Q. How many theatres are there in Newburgh? A. I don't know how many there are in the town. We have one account there, and the New York office has another. There may be some independent houses which I don't know of. Q. And have you included the number of theatres in Newburgh in your estimate of 370 to 420 theatres in your territory? A. Yes, sir.