The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-07-31
TIE TRUST INVESTIGATION.
Report OF the House COmmitteo-0fothot
of Two Great Combines.

TIE TRUST INVESTIGATION.
Report OF the House CommItteo-0Iethod
of Two Great Combines.
WAsuISdTox, July 30.-The Commit
tee on Manufactures to-day submittet
the following report concerning the
trusts investigation which was ordered
printed:
Your committee report that the names
OF various combinations and trusts have
been from time to time furnished tt
your committee.
Your committee has particularly di
rected its inquiry into the methods ol
and extent OF the business done or con
trolled by the Sugar Trustand the stand
ard Oil Trust, and respectfully snbmit
herewith the testimony taken before ii
| in relation TO these two trusts. In sub
mitting this testimony, your committee
desire to call the attention Of the House
to the form of organization OF these two
trusts. Both of them are organized upon
substantially the same plan. From the
testimony it appears that there exists u
certain number OF corporations, orga-
nized under the 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 sur
rendered their stock to the trustees
named in the agreement creating these
trusts and accepting in lieu thereof GER
tilicates issued by the trustees named
therein.
The agreements provide that the va
rious corporations whose stock is sur
rendered to the trustees shall pre-
serve their identity and carry on their
business. In the Sugar Trust agreement
the provision is that the several corpora
tions shall maintain their separate or.
ganizations and each shall carry on and
conduct its own business. In the
Standard Oil Trust agreement 1t is pro-
vided that all property,real and personal,
assets and business, shall be transferred
to and vested in the said several compA-
nics. The duties OF the trustees are
restricted to the receipt OF the dividends
declared by the various corporations
and the distribution OF the aggregate OF
them to the holders OF the trust certiti-
Gates, pro rata, and TO holding and voting
upon the stock Of the corporations. The
trustees in both cases, upon the stand as
witness, specifically denied that the
trustees as such, ever uo 1iy ILL., G.mta
business than TO receive anu uistriouSu M ii',
these dividends ana exercise the Only
other function gwen 70 'hem " tne
trust agreements, that 49, 10 hoiu tns
stock OF the various corporations anu
exercise the rlsl' VI S'ocNi'0''i'''' - '"N''
corporation. =, ..
The care with whicll the uusVceS =
avoid making any agreement rel"tlns W
commodities appears from the testin0ny Sii ION
us to the arrangement with the oii @ ITO
ducers, Association IN Tue llii VI 1901
The officers OF the Producers Assocla-
ton testified that an agreement y was tnen
made with the Standard oil trust ny
which five million barrels OF oil belong
ing to the Standard Oil Trust was set
apart Tor the benefit Oh the ASsoSia''oh'
upon its agreement to Curtall the pro-
duCtiop OF crude oil at least seventeen
thousand five hundred barrels per dlem'
These witnesses undoubtedly under
stand that their arrangement WHs Win
the trustees OF the Standard vi trust
But the written agreement produced
and now in evidence, shows that 1t was
made with and assigned by the stan9ard
Oil Company OF New York, one ol the
companies whose stock IS held by the
trustees, and that the Standard oll trust
or the trustees thereof as such are not
parties to it, nor is either OF them re-
Sponsible for the carrying out OF that
agreement.
This form ot combination was obvious
ly devised for the purpose OF relieving
the trusts and trustees from the charge!
of any breach OF the conspiracy laws OF
the various Stntes, or OF being comb:
nation to regulate or control the price OF
production OF any commodity; hence
they assert that the corporations them
selves which contro! and regulate the
price OF commodities and the extent oil
production and have tangible property,
remain with their organization intact
and distinct, aud not in combination
with each other; that the stoCEholder9
who owned only the stock, and by well
settled legal rules had no legal ute IN
the property OF the corporations entered
into the agreement and sold thGir STOCK
in the corporations and accepted IN pay
ment, trust certificates, and tnat the trus.
tees receive ana nOIu OHly tuc stoCA VI