Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-03-11
STANDARD TO QUIT.
The Great Gil Combine Tired
of Fighting.
VOTE TO BE HAD ca DISSOLUTION.

The Public Cutlery, Together with an Ad-
verse Decision of the Ohio Supreme
Court. Does the Business-A Possibility,
However, OF an Appeal to the United
states Supreme Court-in Immense
Total CapitaI-Nhat the Result of Dis
solution viii BE.
NEW YORK, March little Standard
Oil trust, the greatest and most powerful
monopoly in the world, is going ont of
existence. C T. Dold. solicitor in
charge of all the Standards legal busi-
ness, explained yesterday why it had been
thought advisable to have a vote on a
proposition to dissolve the trust. "The
proposed dissolution of the trust said he,
''is due more than anything else to the
public cutlery against trusts. 1t is also a
direct result Of the decision of the supreme
court of Ohio. That decision was the first
rendered in any court in the United States
that in any way affected the legality Of
the Standard trust
Knocked Ont by the Ohio Court.
~The stockholders of the various stan
dard Oil companies merely put their stocks
into the hands OF the trustees to hold in
trust-in otheg words, the Standard trust
was a trust of personal holders and not Of
companies. The supreme court of Ohio,
however, has decided that the Standard
trust in that state was illegal, on tue
ground that a sufficient number Of stock
holders of one company had put their stock
into the hands of a trust to give the trust
the control of the company.
The Case May BE Appealed.
ha -
ed from the decision of the OHIO court to
the supreme court of the United States,
and 40 doubt a proposition to do so will
be one of the important matters to be dis.
cussed at the coming meeting. 1t is not
decided yet that it would be wise to dis
solve the trust. But if the trust is dis
solved at that meeting there will be no
reorganization, 10 applying to other states
and nothing but a straightforward relin-
quishment Of the trust"
Ninety-Five Millions of Capital.
Mr.. Dodd said that the litigation lead.
ing up to the decision of the Ohio supreme
court was begun ten years ago, shortly
after the trust was organized. The total
capital of the combined companies as rep
resented in the Standard trust is Sg5, 0OO,-
COO. In the last ten days the trust certifi-
Gates have advanced from 159 to 1863. The
| conditions Of the trust, according to Sole
itOr Dodd, provide that the trust may be
terminated a, any time within ten years
from the date of its organization.
Eject of a Dissolut ion.
At the time the trust was organized
there were thirty certificate holders. There
are now about 2.OC0 scattered over the
United States and Europe. Should the
majority decide to dissolve the trust all
certificate holders will have an equity in
all the companies dominated by the
Standard Oil company. Further
more, should the trust be dis
solved all the companies viii be run as
separate companies, as before the or
ganiZation OF the trust. The controlling
interest will then necessarily be in few
hands, aS compared to the present large
number interested in the welfare o. the
trust. For eight years the trust has paid
per cent. quarterly on the Investment.