Page:United States Reports, Volume 209.djvu/451

 SHAWNEE COMPRESS CO. . ANDERSON. 42 9 U.S. Statement of the . and COmmerce, in. volation of the Federal anti-trust law and the anti-trust law of the Territory of Oklahoma, and that it is the design of the Gulf Comprees Company to ncrense the chae of COmpressing COtton, and that it w] be able to enforce such chr �by reason of the fact that it will COntrol all of the compresses in the Territory. There ws a demurrer to the petition, which was overruled. An answer was then filed, which in detail asserted the validity of the proceedings preceding the execution of the lease; that the COmpany was indebted in the sum of $17,,000 to the Shawnee National Bank and $11,250 to the Webb Press Company, Limited, which was past due; that its creditors were pressing for payment, and that the ]ese was necessary in order to procure money by which to pay the Shawnee Bank and to secure the extension of time on the indebtedness due the Webb Press Company, and that for these reasons the ne- gotiations for the lease were entered into and the lease finally mle. And it is alleged that the consideration paid was fair and reasonable and for the best intemt of the stockholders of the Shawnee Company; that defendants cod procure said second mortgage money in no other way, and that the prop- erty of the Shawnee Company would have been sold at a reat' eacrifiee unless the lease had been made. It is alleged that appellees are firms of cotton buyers, and in order to obtain an unfair advantae over other buyers have conspired together for the purpose of forming a monopoly of all the compresses in the Territory and destroying competition in compressing, and, in order to carry out the COnspiracy, have, for more than six months, endeavored to obtain a majority of the stck of the Shawnee Company, and, knowing that Beatty and Stubb were involved and in need of money, have in all ways oppressed sad Beatty and Stubbs to compel them to sell their stock to appellants for an inadequate COnsideration and conspired to compel the Shswnee Company, knowing it was involved and its demands preying, to sell and convey its property to them for the inadequate consideration of $25,000.

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