The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-05-17
TESTIMONY ON TRUSTS.
Attorney General Monet Scores the STAND
ard Oil Monopoly.
PROFITS SIMPLY ENORMOUS
a.. Greater In Year Than
The value of All Farm rro""e''
"Buzzard's" Employed

Washington. May 16.--Attorney General
Mcnnett of Ohio was before the industrial
commission today as witness In the trust
investigation His testimony relateo al
II at exclusively to the Standard Oil trust
against which he has been proceeding IN
Ria official capacity in Ohio. After de-
taliing the particulars Of the suits against
tho Standard brought on behalf of the
stl,e of Ohio, Mr.. Monnett said the cont
pa :lies comprising the trust were so dis
tri1uted as to control all the operations
DE. tanning to the production. transporta-
tiol refining and delivery of oil in Ohio,
including even It's own telegraph system,
IA. Mcnnett complained of discrlmna-
tion in telegraph and railroad rates i'll
fayp, of the Standard company tank lines,
sa! ing that in the latter it was equal to
40 per cent against the ordinary citizen.
lsO Monnett gave the figures showing
that the capitalization Of the twenty COM
pasi rs comprising the trust amounted In
tho aggregate to SIP ,233 GEO. and the valua-
tiol S12f, 631 ,0G0 He said the trust could
NAL its dividends whateveC II desired, as
1t controlled completely the retail price OF
oil
speakng of the earnings OF the oil trust,
Nj Monnett estimated that the gross re-
&C. pts were S120 OO0,00 year on the OHIO
prJduct alone, and he said that all was
profit over 4 cents a gallon on refined oil
Ne placed the value of the earnings OF
thu company per year as greater than the
value of all the iarm products of the state.
AT the afternoon session of the commits
sion Mr. Monnett said in response to
question that he did not wish to enter
upon a discussion of the charg, that the
Standard Oil company had been guilty OF
attempts at bribery to prevent judicial IN
Vestigation. as that matter was at present
under investigation by the Ohio supreme
court,
These proceedings doubtless would " ing
out all the facts and later supply the data
Of The commission. He could, however,
testify to the fart that the company had
seccred the service of railroad agents AL
over the country to report upon the move
meuts and he knew OF one Instance IN
which tho clerk of rival concern had
been employed to supply the details Of his
employers operations to the standard
company Also that the company had its
"buzzards' everywhere. These were ap-
pointed to follow the wagons vi rivals
and secure data upon which the c1mpany
could operate. When rivals were driven
out Of field by reducing rates the prices
Immediately went III.
Mr. Monnett said he understood that the
Standard company controlled from 90 n
% per cent of the crude oil produce but as
the compsny controlled the means of trans
portation it was not necessary nat it
should take the oil out of the rock, The
company was thus Independent IF we'll
owners He did not agree with the state
ment that the standard company was en-
titled to credit for the reduction OF the
price of oil, believing this reduction 10 be
due entirely to other agencies.
Referring to the necessity Of CONTROL
ing the transportation agencies as the
available remedy for the evils of which he
complained, Mr.. Monnett said that no
course could be too severe, if nothing less
would produce the desired result tFhs
States had the remedy of deprivlng the
railroad companies Of their charters and
this should be resorted to If they f1ilod to
treat all equally fair. In conclusion, he
said that suits had been begun in Ohio
courts against the brewers, the tobacco and
the tinplate trusts. and also against the
Central Traffic association.
There will tie no more witnesses before
the commission until next Friday.