Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1903-03-30
STANDARD OIL COMPANY MEET
ING.
Curious Experience of Stakeholder
at a Recent Annual Meeting.

Jasper" in Leslie's Weekly.-The
oveTbearing insolence of a great cor
poration, as unnecessary as il is inn
polite, and as unusual, / might add,
as 1t is unwise, is illustrated by the
recent experience of a stockholder in
the Standard oil company. Armed
with proxy to represent shares own
ed by his wife, and in accordance
with the regular printed invitation
of the company to all of its stock
holders to attend its annual meeting,
he started out from New York about
8 O'Clock in the morning, for the of,
fee of the Standard old company, at
Bayonne, n. J., where the meeting
was to be held at 10:45 a. m. TAX
ing the ferry to Jersey City and a
trolley line toward Bayonne, he was
shunted off to a little old-fashioned
street-car line, which finally landed
him on the outskirts of the Standard
oil company's works, a mile from the
office at which the meeting was held.
After making inquiries OF watch
men, workmen, switchmen and flag
men, at the various railroad cross
ings in the yards. he succeeded in
threading his way through a laby-
rinth of tanks, pipes. cars and build
ings, until, at about IL o'clock in the
morning, he reached a commonplace
brick building on the very edge of
the bay. He was told to climb two
flights of stairs on the outside of the
structure, and there. hidden away in
a loft, without a sign to indicate it's
location, the annual meeting of the
great and powerful Standard oil COM
pany was being held. Inquiring of a
clerk the location of the board room,
this gentleman had an experience
which | propose to let him tell about
in his own words. He is a we'll
known New Yorker. of some promi-
nence in financial and business cir
cles, and his experience may be of
interest to the general public He
Says
Entering the room where the meet
ing was to be held, found a fine
looking, courteous, middle-aged gen.
tleman, seated by the side of a large
table, upon which were piled the
proxies sent in by stockholders. au-
thoriZing Messrs. Rockefeller, Flagler,
and others. to represent them az the
meeting. This gentleman was in
earnest conversation with a visitor.
apparently on some other matter
than that which concerned the stock
holders. This visitor shortly depart
ed and the gentleman turned to me.
| asked If this was the meeting of the
stockholders of the Standard oil COM
pany. He replied that it was, and I
then discovered that / was the only
stakeholder from the outside who
was present. l inquired if an annual
report of the earnings of the COM
pany had been presented. The re-
ply was in the negative. the gentle
man remarking that the stockholders
apparently had not attended the
meetings or cared particularly to see
an annual report. Meeting his cour-
tesy with courtesy, | ventured to sug-
gest that it was the custom at annual
meetings to present for the informa-
ton of the stockholders. somethine
regarding the condition of the prop
erty, to which the stockholders. as
partners in the concern, were obvi-
Ously entitled.
"The gentleman at once became
more serious and asked my name and
whom my proxy represented. He
| Immediately stepped into an adioin-
ing Office for confidential consulta-
ton with the clerks assembled there.
and in a moment several of them
hurried in the room where I was
and made an inspection of what ap-
peared to be the stock books. | was
the subject of a good deal of scru-
tiny and was apparently an object of
decided interest. After a time nv
credentials were accepted, and | ven
. tured again to ask my courteous
friend who represented the company,
whether he was able to give me a
statement bearing on the company's
business for the year. Courteous as
ever, but not quite as suave. he de-
clined to say more than that he must
refer me to Mr.. Dodd, the solicitor
of the company, at the New York
Office.
Il asked if it was not somewhat
unusual to refer a stakeholder in
such a matter to the comany's attor-
ney, and he replied that he had moth
ing more To say excepting that if
wanted information must consult
the attorney. | asked the gentleman
II he was an officer of the company,
and he said he was and that he was
director. | asked If, as a director,
he declined TO impart information re-
garding the company's affairs to its
stockholders. He again replied
somewhat frigidly. that he must re-
Ter me to Mr.. Dodd. | asked the di-
rector TO give me his name and he
unhesitatingly gave il as Mr.. Bar
stow. I babe Mr.. Barstow good-day
and tramped a mile back to the street
car, through the gases and stenches
OF the Standard oil works, and re-
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