Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-07-31
THE TRUSTS.
Standard OIL and Sugar Combines
Investigated.

WASHINGTON, July 30.-The House
Committee on manufactures to-day,
submitted an elaborate report concern
ing Trusts, their investigation of which
was ordered printed. The report says
the Committee has particularly directed
its inquiry into the methods and extent
of the business done or controlled by the
Sugar Trust and Standard Oil Trust. In
submitting testimony the Committee
calls the attention of the House to the
form of organization of those two Trusts.
Both of them are organized upon sub
stantialiy the same plan. From the tes-
timony it appears that there exists a
certain number of corporations organized
under laws of the different States
and subject to their control; that
these corporations have issued
their stock to various individuals, and
that these individual stockholders have
surrendered their stock to trustees named
in the agreement creating these trusts,
and accepted in lieu thereof, certificates
issued by the trustees. The agreement
provides that the various corporations
whose stock is surrendered to the
trustees should preserve their identity
and carry on their business.
In the Sugar Trust the agreement
provision is that the several corporations
shall maintain their separate organiza-
ton and each shall carry on and conduct
its own business. The trustees in both
cases upon the stand as witnesses,
specifically denied that the trustees
as such ever do any, other
business than to receive and distribute
dividends and to hold the stock of the
various corporations and exercise the
right OF the stockholders in such corpor-
ations.
The care with which the trustees avoid
making any agreement relating to COM
modities appears from the testimony as
to the arrangement with the Oil Producers
Association in the fall of 1887. The off,
GERS of the Producers Association testi-
fed that an agreement was then made
with the Standard Oil Trust by which
five million barrels of oil belonging to
the Standard Oil Trust was set apart for
the benefit of the Association, upon
dts agreement to curtail the production
of crude oil to 1900 barrels per diem.
These witnesses undoubtedly understand
that this was the arrangement with the
trustees of the Standard Oil Trust, but a
written agreement was produced and is
now in evidence and shows that it was
made with and is signed by the Standard
Oil Company, of New York, one of the
companies whose stock is held by the
trustees, and that the Standard Oil Trust,
or trustees thereof as such, are not par
ties to it nor is either of them responsible
tor the carrying out of that agreement.
This form Of combination was obviously
devised for the purpose of relieving the
trusts and trustees from the charge of
any breach of conspiracy against the
laws of the various States, or being a
combination to regulate or control the
price OF production Of any commodity.
The report also says: Complaint hav-
ing been made by citizens of the State of
New York against the sugar trust. and
one of the corporations whose stock it
holds, the Attorney General of that State
has directed prosecutions to be COM
menced against that trust and the corpor-
ations complained of, upon the grounds
which are set forth in an elaborate opin-
ion, which is submitted as part of the
evidence in relation to that trust, and
which contains careful statement of the
law of that State 80 far as it affords any
remedy against such trusts.