The Mena star., 1899-06-15
oNE TRUSTS nuoE PRorIrs.

unquestionably ono of the most powerful trusts that ever existed. Its officers have it in their power to levy, and do levy heavier taxes upon the people for the use and profit of themselves and the stock holders than any king or poten- tate of any country would dare lew for his use and that of his friends and retalners, yet our people appear to be powerless and submit to be thus plundered with out making scarcely a protest. This gigantic corporation lcyies its taxes in every city, county, town and hamlet in the United States, gathering them chiefly from the country and smaller towns and from people of moderate means, as the possessors of wealth living in the cities light their homes and business houses with gas and electricity. The following from the Kansas City Star conveys some idea of the way this great trust plunders the people:
 Some astounding statements re- garding the earnings of the Stan dard Oil company were made by Attorney General Monnett of Ohio, before the industrial com mission at Washington Tuesday. He declared that the trusts annual profits amount to more than the aggregate value of the agricultural products of Ohio, and compari- son of available statistics of the petroleum business seems to bear out his statement. Mir. Monnett says that the net cost of refined oil averages four cents a gallon and all above that price Is profit. The production of petroleum last year was 2,500 million gallons. The trust controls about 70 per cent of this, according to recent estimates, or 1,7O0 million gallons. 1t is probable that 70 per cent is low estimate of the trusts part of the output. The average wholesale price last year was little over five cents a gallon, so, if Mir. Monnett's statement of the cost of production Is correct, the trust earned F million dollars year. It actually paid dividends amount ing to nearly 30 millions, or 30 per cent on its 974 millions of capital.
 ''Oil has recently advanced. Itis quoted at ten cents in New York now. At that price the trust apparently is making profit of six cents d gallon, which will amount to 100 millions per annum if the present price is maintained. The value of agricultural products in the rich state of Ohio does not amount to much more than that sum. The directors of the com pany recently declared quarterly dividend of l2 per cent. Its last preceding dividend was six per cent; this makes eighteen per cent or about IS million dollars to be distributed to stockholders as a result of half years business. The company's stock is worth nearly 400 per cent premium over its par value; in other words the market value of it's 974 millions of capital stock is close to 800 million dollars.
 "A person does not have to be very violent in his opposition to trusts to realize that such a cor poration as the Standard Oil com pay should be prevented by law from laying such heavy tax on the people as is necessary to pile up the enormous profits that it makes every year. It may be con- ceded that the Rockcfcllers have wrought beneficcnt work for mankind in building up such a complete and marvclously effec- tive system as they have created for distributing oil at compara- lively low cost to consumers, and they are entitled to a fortune for it. But there is no justification from any public point of view for A..