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 (1914)

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:
1914
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 5
Leaf #:
000501
Language:
English
Collection:
Early Cinema and Government & Law
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 21, 2023
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Warren R. Palmer, Cross Examination. 2947 Q. You got $20,000 for selling out, didn't you? A. There was a difference between the copartnership and the incorporation. We started the copartnership and finally did business by an incorporation, a company. Q. How much money did you put into the corporation? I am talking about this business of two years now. A. In the corporation? About $8,000. Q. You put in? A. Put in. Q. And had you made that in your business as a film rental exchange? A. No. Q. Then you had invested $8,000 and got back $20,000, is that right? A. No, that is not right. We owed a great deal of money. Q. Then how much had been put in? A. I presume — Q. I am not asking you what you presume. I am asking you what you know. Now, how much money had been paid in? A. Approximately about twenty-two thousands of dollars. Q. Who owned the stock of this motion picture company? A. Myself, Mr. R. M. Mock, Charles H. Palmer, Mr. Ford, of Ford, Etis & Woolcott, a brokerage concern, Mr. F. F. Armstrong and one or two others that I cannot recall. Q. Who was the largest owner of the stock? A. I was. Q. How much did you own? A. 49 shares. Q. How many shares were there in all? A. There were one hundred and fifty. Q. Who were the other large owners? A. Mr. Mock, who owned 40 shares. Q. How much did you put in for your 49 shares? A. I put in what good will we had, and $900, office furniture. Q. $900 of office furniture? A. No; $900 in cash. Q. How much did Mock put in? A. Mr. Mock put in no actual cash. He put in what part of the copartnership he owned, which was half. Q. And how much cash did these other men put in? A. They paid for their stock at a hundred cents on the dollar. Q. How much cash did they put in? A. Mr. Charles H. Palmer put in a thousand dollars; Ford, Etis & Woolcott put in $000; Mr. James EL Palmer, I believe, put in a hundred dollars, one share; Mr. F. F. Armstrong put in $3,000. A man by the name of George Simpson put in a