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 #:
000558
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 21, 2023
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4 3000 George K. Spoor, Direct Examination. Q. Then, of course, you did not call on Mr. Swansou at that club? A. No, sir. Q. Did you see Swanson at the Republican Club at any time? A. Yes, sir. Q. State how it was that he happened to be there? A. Well, there had been some meeting of the 'Film Service Association, of some exchange managers at the Imperial Hotel during the day, which I had not attended, and that evening Mr. Kleine and Mr. Selig and myself were around uptown here, and about two o'clock we went into Jack's Restaurant, and we were sitting there, and a lot of exchange men came in and were sitting over at another table, and among them was Mr. Swanson, and when he saw Mr. Selig and myself, and Mr. Kleine, he invited himself over and sat down with us, and he hooked up to us pretty strong. In fact, we got up and started to go to the Club, which we did, and Mr. Swanson came right along with us uninvited. He walked over there and into the Club, also uninvited, and he came upstairs and went to Mr. Kleine's room, and he was still with us, and Mr. Kleine sent down for some Apollinaris water — Mr. Grosvenor: Are you sure it was Apollinaris water? The Witness: I know it was Apollinaris, because Mr. Kleine has a friend who runs the Apollinaris Works, and he would not take anything else. By Mr. Caldwell: Q. Go ahead Mr. Spoor? A. And we hinted that he might — Mr. Grosvenor: Mr. Kleine or Mr. Swanson? The Witness: Air. Swanson might go and let us retire, but there was no going. The only tiling we could do was to go down stairs and get a room for him down at the other end of the hall, which we did, and we took Mr. Swanson down there and put him in that room, and that was the last I saw of Mr. Swanson. This was about 3:30 in the morning, and 1 didn't see Mr. Swansou any more, and I never saw him at the Republican Club.