The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1899-10-10
HANNA STANDS
FOR TRUSTS.
Ever the Active Friend OF the
Combines,
in OPEN DEFIANCE OF LAW
Assisting Them Famous order That He
| Gave Attorney -Generai Watson
! Remarkable Chapter In Ohio
Political History.
special TO News-Democrat.

VI Columbus, Oct. 9.-No one Is sur
prised or shocked at Mark Hanna's
Hefense of trusts. He has been their
champion, their guide, counsellor and
friend for many years. Hanna has
always prided himself on his consis-
tency. In his devotion to trusts he has
been consistent to the point OF mania
He first appeared as defender OF
trusts nine years ago, when d. K. Wat /,
son. Attorney general of Ohio, brought
suit to annul the charter of the Stan |
4 dard Oil company because 1t had de-
fed Ohio laws by going into trust.
Watson was a brave honorable man.
He was holding office and was sworn
to perform the duties of his Office to the
best of his ability. Watson learned that
the great Standard Oil corporation had
entered into trust agreement, and
had thus annulled the corporate rights
conferred upon 1t by the state OF
Ohio.
HE DID HIS DUTY.
AS an honest Attorney General Wat
son felt it his duty to openly charge
the Standard with a fragrant violation
of law. He brought quo warranto pro-
ceedings in the supreme court insisting
that the Standard Oil company was
no longer privileged to do business In
Ohio. Watson's action was the pioneer
attack upon the encroachments OF
trusts in this country. That was In 1890,
when there was no great talk about
trusts as there Is today
Watson, fearless and far-seeing,
could detect the future results of the
trusts evil If allowed to go unchecked.
He sought at the start to unmask the
vicious and oppressive tendencies of
trust tyranny. Watson might have
slept and let the trust encroachment go
on. There was then no public clamor
about trusts. No one knew much about
them, AS vet the public and the work
ing men did not heed the approach OF
danger or the sure death to competi-
tive industry.
DEFIED THE LAW.
Up to 1890 the Standard Oil trust had
been brazenly defying law and con-
trolled legislatures, officials and pos
sibly the courts to such an extent thai
it had no fear Of interruption. Watson's
suit was a stunning shock and surprise
Standard Oil managers and lawyers
were frantic in their efforts to prevent
the suit from coming to trial, every
politician, ponderous or petty, who wa:
controlled by the Standards influence
was put at work to have the suit with
drawn It was thought this suit could
be settled as others had been settled
by paying price. They did not know
Watson.
1t was the first time in the hstor!
of Standard Oil tyranny that the mana
gers had got up against such man.
Finding that Watson would not b.
influenced, the Standard managers be
gan to coax. Letters poured into Wat
sons office Public men who ought t
have been in better business obeyed tn
Standards orders. They wrote Wat
son urging him not to prosecute" tn
Standard. They pleaded that the Stan
dard had been the friend of the Republi
can party and a heavy contributor t.
campaigns.
THE LETTER FROM HANNA.
Among other letters to Watson cam
one from M. A. Hanna. Hanna ha
long been active in Republican poll
tics. Watson knew him even the
as a powerful politician. Watson kney
that Hanna had led the revolt agains
Foraker in 1889 which lost Chic to tn
Republican party. Watson, as a.
aspiring state official, had reason t
fear man of Hanna's growing power
Yet Watson was not afraid. Instea
he was mad. Hanna's letter was t
watson's mind an insult pure an
simple In his letter to Watson, Hann
tIa atk
al of Ohio to stop the prosecution. Their
were also intimations in the Hann
letter that reflected on Watsons ability
if not his integrity. Watson was $
mad that he showed the letter to other
in the statehouse, and talked about
with considerable feeling. In substanc
Hanna's letter read like this:
81 noticed, some time ago, that yo
had brought suit to take away tn
charter of the Standard Oil company
intended to write you about 1t at th
time, but 1t slipped my memory.
few days ago, while in New York,
met my friend, John d. Rockefeller
and he called my attention to the fac
that you had brought the suit but di
not ask me to influence you In any way.
Hanna then went on to protest tina
Rockefeller did not instigate what Han
ma was writing. In fact, the protest O
this character was overdone.
Hanna went on appealing to Watson
Republicanism by citing the fact tina
the Standard Oil company had alway
done much for the Republican organi
| zation in Cleveland Watson was ad
vised also not to make an attack Of
organized capital" Hanna's favorit
and misleading term for trust.
A JOLLY AND A THREAT.
"I have always considered you in tn
line of political promotion" wrote Han
ma to Watson. Then followed yer,
broad intimation that unless Watson
withdrew this Standard suit this cor
poration would cut short his politica
career and down him for ever In Obi