whatsoever; provided, however, that this act shall not apply to the sale and purchase of uniforms. (Acts 1916, No. 188, sec. 2.) Sec. 4963. Penalty for violating act.-Any violation of this act shall be a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of not less than $50.00 or more than $100.00, or imprisonment for at least 30 days or not more than 90 days, or both, at the discretion of the court. (Acts 1916, No. 188, sec. 3.) Gen. Stat. Ann. (Dart, 1939) For discounts on conditional purchases, a lessee shall not deal with goods of competitor, see sec. 4908 set forth under General Antitrust Laws, supra. Judicial Decisions At common law an employer without making himself civilly liable to a competitor may coerce his employees to patronize him exclusively. Lewis v. Huie-Hodge Lumber Co., 121 La. 658, 46 So. 685 (1908). Sec. 4961 etf., which makes it a misdemeanor to coerce employees to buy from a particular person, is punitive in nature and gives no civil right of action against the wrongdoer. See Deon v. Kirby Lumber Co., supra, p. 268. MAINE I. TRUSTS, COMBINATIONS, AND MONOPOLIES A. GENERAL ANTITRUST LAWS CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS No provision. STATUTORY PROVISIONS Sec. 60. Formation of trusts forbidden.-It shall be unlawful for any firm or incorporated company, or any number of firms or incorporated companies, or any unincorpated company, or association of persons or stockholders, organized for the purpose of manufacturing, producing, refining or mining any article or product which enters into general use and consumption by the people, to form or organize any trust, or to enter into any combination of firms, incorporated or unincorporated companies, or association of stockholders, or to delegate to any one or more board or boards of trustees or directors the power to conduct and direct the business of the whole number of firms, corporations, companies, or associations which may have formed, or which may propose to form a trust, combination, or association inconsistent with the provisions of this section and contrary to public policy. No association or corporation organized for the sole purpose of marketing fish, shellfish, or any of the fish products or agricultural products of this state, the members of, or stockholders in which are actually engaged in the production of such products, or in the selling, canning or otherwise preserving of the same, shall be deemed to be a conspiracy or a combination in restraint of trade or an attempt to lessen competition or to fix prices arbitrarily; nor shall the marketing contracts and agreements between such association or corporation and its members or stockholders be considered illegal as such or in unlawful restraint of trade or as part of a conspiracy or combination to accomplish an improper or illegal purpose. (R. S. c. 51, sec. 57. 1923, c. 187.) Sec. 61. Evidence of interest in any trust not to have legal recognition. No certificate of stock, or other evidence of interest, in any trust, combination, or association, as named in the preceding section, shall have legal recognition in any court in this state, and any deed of real estate given by any person, firm or corporation, for the purpose of becoming interested in such trust, combination, or association, or any mortgage given by the latter to the seller, as well as all certificates growing out of such transaction, shall be void. (R. S. c. 51, sec. 58.) Sec. 62. Penalty for being connected with any trust.—Any firm, incorporated or unincorporated company, or association of persons or stockholders, who shall enter into or become interested in such trust, combination, or association, shall be punished by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars, nor more than ten thousand dollars. (R. S. c. 51, sec. 59.) Rev. Stat. (1930) c. 138 Sec. 28. Contracts in restraint of trade declared illegal; penalty. Every contract, combination in the form of trusts or otherwise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce in this state is hereby declared to be illegal. Whoever shall make any such contract or engage in any such combination or conspiracy shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. (R. S. c. 128, sec. 26.) Sec. 29. Conspiring to monopolize trade; penalty.-Whoever shall monopolize or attempt to monopolize any part of the trade or commerce of this state shall be punished upon conviction thereof by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than six months or by both such fine and imprisonment. (R. S. c. 128, sec. 27.) Sec. 30. Persons injured by violation may recover damages.— Whoever shall be injured in his business or property by any other person or corporation by reason of anything forbidden or declared to be unlawful by the two preceding sections may sue therefor in an action on the case and shall recover three times the damages by him sustained. (R. S. c. 128, sec. 28.) Sec. 31. Penalty prescribed for profiteering in the necessities of life; term "necessities of life" defined.-Any dealer, trader, manufacturer, or warehouseman who with intent to enhance the price or restrict the supply of necessities of life willfully destroys or per mits preventable waste in the production, manufacture, storage, or distribution of the same, or, with such intent, prevents, limits, lessens, or restricts the manufacture, production, supply, or distribution of said necessities or hoards said necessities, or enters into any contract, combination, or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce, or exacts or demands any unjust or unreasonable profit in the sale, exchange, or handling of the said necessities, or unreasonably discriminates against any person in the sale of such necessities, or in any way aids or abets the doing of any act hereinbefore mentioned, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than three years, or by both such fine and imprisonment. The term "necessities of life" shall include food for human consumption, food for domestic animals, wearing apparel, shoes, building materials, gas and electricity for light, heat, and power, ice, fuel of all kinds, fertilizer and fertilizer ingredients, together with tools, utensils, implements, machinery, and equipment required for the actual production or manufacture of the same. (1919, c. 256, sec. 1. 1921, c. 76, sec. 1.) Sec. 32. Profiteering in rents; penalty.-Whoever demands or collects an unreasonable or unjust rent or charge, taking into due consideration the actual market value of the property at the time, with a fair return thereon, or imposes an unreasonable or unjust term or condition, for the occupancy of any building or any part thereof, rented or hired for dwelling purposes, shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars or by imprisonment for not more than eleven months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. (1919, c. 256, sec. 2.) Sec. 33. Attorney general to investigate.-The attorney general upon his own initiative or upon petition of fifty or more citizens of this state shall investigate all seeming violations of sections thirtyone to thirty-three inclusive, all contracts, combinations, or conspiracies in restraint of trade or commerce and all monopolies, and may require, by summons, the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of books and papers before him relating to any such matter under investigation. Such summons shall be served in the same manner as summons for witnesses in criminal cases, and all provisions of law relating thereto shall apply to summonses issued under this section so far as they are applicable. All investigations or hearings thereunder or connected therewith to which witnesses are summoned or called upon to testify or to produce books, records, or correspondence, shall be public and shall be held in the county wherein the act to be investigated is alleged to have been committed, |