The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-07-27

respective States, but directly to tn
trustees, who in return might eithc
issue trust certificates to them 70
the same at it's true value, or pro
coed to acquire the balance of tn,
stock in any of the companies. ant
assign all to the Standard Oil Com
pany of the proper State, to be deal
with as above described. Thus tn,
nine trustees were to be owners, eth
er through the medium of Stand
ard Oil Company, or directly, of al
the stocks in all the corporations
held by the individuals thus combin
ing, and in consideration for tn,
same were to issue to the person:
entitled thereto trust certificates
equal at par value to the par value
of the stock of the several Standard
Oil Companies and EQUAL to the APP
praised value of the other stocks.
THE NINE MAeSATEs.
The trustees were divided into
three classes, each class TO hold of.
fee for three years, and were to be
chosen as vacancies occurred by the
holders of certificates at their annual
meetings.
They were to have general super
vision over the affairs of the several
Standard Oil Companies, and as far
as possible over the other companies
any portion of whose stock was held
by them. They should elect as di.
rectors and officers faithful and com
petent men. and have The affairs OF
all the companies managed in the
interest of the holders of trust Ger
tificates.
The trustees, as owners of all the
stock dividends when the value OF
their property justities, and to ac
quirc stock and bonds of other cor.
porations, or admit other parties to
the agreement of the same classes
as the original parties.
BY the terms of the agreement il
is to last for the life Of the surviv-
ing trustee and twenty-one years
thereafter, subject to termination
after the lapse of one year or ten
years by the action of nine tenths or
of thirds, respectively, in value
of the certificate owners.
The trustees may elect themselves
officers of the various companies and
they receive salaries, their president
$50, 900 per year, all others S25, 900
Several things may be noted about
this agreement, reserving to another
paper a discussion of most of its
| features.
CENTRALIZED POWER.
1t centralized in the hands of nine
trustees the entire ownership and
control of all the properties and all
the business of the combination
Out of and above the several Stand.
ard Oil Companies or corporations
was evolved 1.-THE Standard Oil
Trust" not company or a corpora
tion, but an absolute directory, com
posed of nine individual trustees,
created by a written agreement, to
which the shareholders in these and
other companies were parties.
These shareholders had thus par
ted irreyocably with their stock in
their respective companies, and stood
on common footing as holders OF
trust certificates. No one of them
had now any special interest in the
particular corporation of which he
had been a stakeholder. Its bust
ness might be curtailed or suspend
ed, its relineries dismantled, without
affecting him more than any other
certificate holder. There was a com
mon purse for distributing dividends
to all certificate holders, share and
share alike. In fact the trustees
themselves were and have always
been owners in their own right of
the bulk of the certificates. They
can thus re-elect themselves IN
definitely.
The plan for forming Standard
Oil Company in each State was part
ly abandoned and the stocks of ex-
listing companies directly transferred
to the trustees.
At the time of the investigation
the trustees of the Standard Oil
Trust held the entire stock of eight
corporations in New York, of three
in New Jersey, of two in Ohio, of one
in Kentucky, of one in Minnesota,
of two in Massachusetts, and practi-
cally all of one in Maryland. They
also held part of the stock, in most
cases a majority, in six corporations
in New York, three in Pennsylvania
two in Ohio, two in Iowa, one in Mis-
souri, and one in West Virginia.
VIM. L. WILSON.