New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-06
STANDARD OIL COMPANY AFFAIRS.
MISREPRESENTATION TO RE PROTECTED
no IMPORTANT BOOKS RrRNED

NO IMPORTANT BOOKS BURNED.
Columbus Ohio Jan. Sin the arguments before
the Supreme Court this morning on the motion OF
the Attorney General 10 dismiss the Master Com
missioner and continue the Investigation Of tho
Standard OIL Company In open court. Virgil r.
Kline. OF Cleveland. attorney for the oil company
made some positive statements and admissions
He declared. in the first place. in response TO IN
terrogatories ~ the Court. that the company will
not under the former order Of tho Court, produce
any books other than those already given In evil
dence. In the second place he admitted that there
still outstanding about s.7oo0 900 worth OF trust
certificates Of the Standard oil Trust. which the
Court ordered dissolved in 1882 and which the
president OF the Standard company has all along
been trying 70 get In. and IL stu trying The
Court heard the arguments OF both sides but took
action.
Only Attorney General Monet and Mr. Kline ad-
dressed the Court. The arguments principally
devoted 10 the question as 10 whether not the
officers Of the Standard Oil Company have COM
Piled with the recent order OF the Court to produce
the company's books. showing gross earnings and
distribution OF dividends. since the trust
dered dissolved IN 1897. Attorney-General Monet
argued that the company produced books in
evidence except stock books: that diatory tactics
had been resortcd TO by II: that the Master Com
missioner had not forced compliance with the
ders OF the Court; that now the funds available for
tho purposes OF the investigation are exhausted.
Court.
Mr.. Kline. in reply. stated that the company had
no books that pertinent 70 The order ~ the
Court save minute books and ledgers, which had
been placed in evidence. He declared that COM
mercial books OF the corporation were formally
demanded and when pressed by the Court he ad-
mitted that they would not have been produced II
asked for He protested that such demand was
violation OF the rights Of the stockholders. under
Article OF the BIZ Of Rights, the Constitution ~
the state and the XVIII Amendrnsnt .
l. was al this iunctura that Judge Minshall asked:
DO YOU refuse 70 comply with the order ~ the
Court"
To which M Kline replied We DO for the pur-
pose Of presenting legal questions We desire 70
raise This will be when the order IL presented 10
the officials 10 produce them"
Chief Justice Spear asked. Has your company
any books showing the workings - the corpora
Mr.. Kline replied: we. have books showing gross
earnings and all financial details and we still have
than than This talk bout burning the" Is the T"eT'''
He was next asked VIII you produce them
order because n would be a violation OF our rights.
We have always been willing 10 produce our minute
but nor books showing the holdings Of stockholders
and transfers among them Any item that could
ard the result would be nearer. no clearer. We
submitted all books showing ownership CT trust
When the order 10 dissolve was made IN lse2 there
We're s 90 ro worth q oertidcates OUTSTANDING al
but the president o. the corporation has so tar
been unable 70 get these. as they held as In
TesTs s ana SGste d WsG rs
10 convert all this amount OF money into corporate
s2sna rom tb 6n5sT9 az 90 G g9 ~ oho
As 10 books. We burn old books In storage every
ter years but there have been nouA destroyed per
The Court gave the attorneys OF the oil and
stituent conpanies two weeks IN which 20 file their
companies.