The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-03-21
29I-2 PER CENT
Dividend Paid by the Standard Oil
Trust the Past Year.

New York March 21.-A hearing in
the case of the State of Ohio against
the Buckeye Pipe Line company was
begun yesterday afternoon in the office
of Commissioner Mills. The hearing was
held that the attorney general might
take dispositions in the proceedings
brought in Ohio to annul the charter of
the Buckeye Line company for violation
of the antitrust laws of Ohio The
claim. of the prosecution is that the
Standard Oil trust still exists and that
despite the law the Buckeye Pipe Line
company is still a member of it. The
Buckeye Pipe Line company was or
ganized for the transportation of crude
oil. Its Headquarters are at Lima, O.,
and its capital stock is $40 o00,0 900. H. H.
Rogers is the president.
At the proceedings today NJ. F. Elliott
and Virgil P,Cline represented the com
pany.
Attorney General Monnett appeared
for the state of Ohio.
W. L. Flagg acted as his assistant.
AS preliminary to the inquiry
Messrs. Elliott and Cline agreed to ad-
NIT a, copy of the testimony given in
October last by John D. Rockefeller in
the Standard Oil case. provided the
Ohio court should decide that such evil
dence was competent, counsel objected,
however, holding that such testimony
was not competent
George Rice was the first witness call
ed. Mr.. Flagg asked him If he ever
owned certificate of the Standard Oil
trust and he answered yes.
The witness identified as his property
two certificates, one certificate of the
Standard Oil trust and the other GER
tificate of assignment of legal title, both
original certificates.
Have you ever owned a trust certif-
icate of the kind called a certificate of
equitable interest which you handed in
to the trust and for which you received
a certificate known as an assignment of
legal title?' asked Mr.. Flagg.
n only
less given opportunity to explain
and Mr.. Flagg asked; Did you ever
hand into the trust a certificate for
which received stock of a constituent
company"
Mr.. Rice said: Eyes," and again ask
ed to be allowed to explain. Mr.. Flagg
held him down to a yes" or mo" an
Swer.
Mr.. Flagg asked an explanation of the
exchange of stock certificates and Mr..
Rice showed that at the dissolution of
the trust he received in place of his or
iginal certificate of stock certificate
of legal assignment of stock which en-
titled his proportion of the property
owned by the 20 different companies,
represented in the trust
THE last certificate conveyed to me"
said Mr.. Rice, IAN equitable interest in
the property owned by the trust; the
second conveyed to me the legal title"
ITO whom did you present the GER
tificate supposed to convey the legal
title?"
Il did not present it. It was pre-
scented by my agent, Mr.. Kemper, to
the liquidating trustees"
What did you receive directly upon
presentation of that certif1cate?"
81 received corporate scrip in nine
teen different constituent corporations
and a paper acknowledgment of a frac-
tional interest in the Anglo-American
Oil company of London
Now, having stated so much. will
you state if the Buckeye Pipe Line
company was a member of what is
known as the Standard Oil trust?'
asked Mr.. Flagg.-
Eyes, it was"
How do you know"
by it's being represented In the cor
pOrate scrip 1 received from the liqui-
dating trustees
In answer to questions witness said
he owned this corporate scrip about
three years. He had never received any
dividends from any of it. None of the
companies in which he received frac-
tional shares upon surrender to the
trust of the trust certificate paid divi-
dends on such fractional shares.
Besides this scrip witness said he had
six shares represented by certificates
of the Standard Oil trust.
A special dividend paid on the Stand
ard Oil trust certificates in the hands
of the liquidating trustees, Mr.. Rice
said, amounted to 30 per cent for the
last two years, or 171A per cent a year.
The regular dividend was II per cent
a year, making total dividend OF 291a
per cent per year. Witness said the
fact that three-sevenths Of the stock
of the pipe line company still remained
as it did constituted the reason for the
existence of what is known as the
liquidating board of trustees. He I'M
derstood that the other four-seventhS
were owned almost exclusively by the
liQuidating trustees and the officers OF
the other nineteen constituent COM
panies His refineries had been shut
down for about three years. He was
still producing oil. He thought the
Buckeye company did 80 per cent of the
local pipeage in the state of Ohio. He
! was not aware that other companies