The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1892-03-26
TRUST IS DEAD.

The Standard on Trust at . Meeting In
New York City. Resolves Itself Out Of
Existence by . Vote Of Over Two-rhlrds
Of the Stock-rrustees Chosen to Wind
Up Its Anairs-
NEW YORK, March ee.-At a meeting
OF the holders of the Standard Oil
Trust certificates, at the office Of the
trust in this city. yesterday morning, .
resolution to terminate the agreement
forming the trust was voted upon and
adopted by q very large majority, over
two-thirds of the certificates being
voted in favor of the dissolution. More
thar 200 of the certifcate-holders were
present. John d. Rockefeller was
chosen chairman of the meeting and
JGhn D. Archbold, secretary. The fol-
lowing officers of the trust were pres
ent. John D. Rockefeller, president;
John D. Archbold. II. W. Rogers. W.
Tilford, trustees, and S. C. T. Dodd,
attorney for the trust Those absent
were: Henry Flagler. secretary, who
is at St Augustine; BENZ. Brewster,
treasurer, who is in Egypt, and VIM.
Rockefeller, trustee.
After the call of the secretary was
read the following resolutions were
offered by s. F. T. Dodd:
Resosr&, That the agreement dated january
20, lSss, commonly known as the Standard Oh
Trust agreement, and the supplement thereto,
dated January 4. 1889 be, aud they are hereby
terminated this slst day Of March. 1859. And,
further,
Reso'red, That the affairs of the trust shall
be wound up by John d. Rockefeller. N. II.
Flogler, VIM Rockefeller John d. Archbold,
BENZ. Brewster, n. ". Rogers, o. B. Je innings
and Wesley n. Tilford, and the survivor or
survivors Of them in the following manner:
All property held by said trust, except stocks
Of corporations shall be sold by said trustees at
private sale and the proceeds thereof. together
with any money belonging to the trust. shall Be
distributed to the owners Of trust certificate &C.
cording to their respective interests. All stocks
Of corporations held by. said trustees shall be
distributed to the owners Of the trust certi-
ficates in proportion to the respective equitable
interests Of said owners in the stocks so held In
trust, as evidenced by the trust certificates:
that Is to say, that the owner OF said trust GER
tiflcate or certificates shall be entitled TO de-
liver such certificate or certificates for cancel
lation and to receive in lieu thereof an assign
ment Of as many shares or fractions Of shares
in each OF tho corporations whose stocks arc
held in the said trust, as he is entitled to by
virtue Of said certificate or In the class, 1t be-
ing the intent and meaning Of this resolution
that the equitable interests in said stocks rep
resented by trust certificates, may thus
on demand be converted into legal inter-
ests represented by assignments and transfers
Of said stocks by said trustees to the parties en-
titled thereto which transfers and assignments
may be entered on the books Of the several cor
porations upon the demand Of the holders OF
such assignments, thereby merging or convert
ing equitable ownership into legal ownership IN
said stocks. All purchases. sales, exchanges
and cancellations of stocks or agreements
therefor. excepted or executory, made by the
trustees during the existence of the trust. and
all assents by said trustees stockholders to
purchases, sales and exchanges or corporate
property and to the formation and winding up
of corporations. and all other acts Of the said
trustees during the existence Of the trust. are
hereby ratified and confirmed
Resolred That the trustees hereby appointed
to wind up the trust have power to act by
majority of their number, to fill any vacancies
In their number and to sign all papers by one
OF their number as attor neys- in fact, and that
they report from time TO time to the parties in
terested in all transactions had or done by vir-
tue OF these resolutions
Resolred, That the power to vote upon any
stocks then standing in the name Of trustees
shall cease at the end Of four months from this
date.
Resolred That personal notice OF the adoption
Of these resolutions be given to all holders
Of trust certificates
In speaking in support of the above
resolutions, Mr.. Dodd said: "Some-
thing over ten years ago few individ-
uals owning stock in a number of cor
porations engaged in transporting and
refining oil entered into an agreement
L L Il. L.. a. ,~lo sx.
the hands of trustees and certificates
were issued by those trustees showing
the amount of each owners equitable
interest in the stocks so held in trust.
This was not done ,in order to vest
the voting power in the hands
of few persons, because the
persons chosen as trustees then
held, and always have held the voting
power by virtue of their absolute own
ership of majority of stock. 1t was
not done TO reduce com petition between
the companies whose stock was placed
In trust for non-competing companies,
tould not be so long as their stocks
were owned by these few persons. It
was not done to limit production or to
increase prices, but, on the contrary,
it was done to increase production.
cheaper cost of manufacture and to
lower prices, and it has been successful
in the object far beyond the anticipa-
tion OF those who originated the plan.
1t was called trust" because it was q
trust in the sense in which the word
was then understood. 1t vested a
fiduciary obligation in a few for the
benefit of many, and the trustees thus
created have faithfully observed the
trust confided in them.
''Other persons, however, found this
trust plan a convenient one, and il is
alleged that it has been adopted for
purposes quite different from those
which actuated the trainers of this
trust. Whether these allegations are
true or false, it is true that trust Is
now defined to be a corporation to sup
press competition, to reduce produc-
ton and to increase prices"