The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1904-04-28

war had been settled to the satisfac-
tion of both parties the trust screwed
up the price of sugar to point far
above the price that prevailed before
the commencement of the strife be-
tween the two great rivals. This was
the easier because the independent re-
tiners could not then, nor perhaps can
they now, produce enough sugar to
supply the demand.
Ajax's defense of the oil trust is a
lame affair. It's positively disappoint-
ing. But perhaps realization of the
indefensibleness of the business meth
ods practiced by the oil trust benumbed
his intellectual faculties, and paralyzed
his generally brilliant Imagination.
That the charges made by the writer
against the Standard Oil Co. were not
groundless will appear from the fol-
lowing:
L. When the business methods of the
Standard Oil Co. were investigated by
the senate of the state of New York
Mr.. Rockefeller stated that he never
had been in any way connected with
the South Improvement Co.; during
the Federal investigation of trusts,
conducted in the same year QS8S) Mr..
Rockefeller admitted that he had been
one of the trustees of the South I'm
provement Co.
H. In what is commonly called the
Buffalo Case" two agents of the
Standard Oil Co. were found guilty of
conspiring to ruin al independent re-
fining concern. The evidence pro-
duced during the trial clearly proved
that the agents of the Standard Oil
Co. had bribed one of the employees of
the Buffalo firm to ruin the plant of
the said firm by overheating the furn-
aces, and the only reason why the
trusts agents escaped a trial for arson
was because the trial judge decided
that inasmuch "as the defendants had
already been tried on the charge of
conspiracy, and heavy damages having
been assessed against them, they
should not be subjected to second
trial on the charges of bribery and in
stigated arson.'
; III. When the supreme court of Ohio
demanded the books of the Standard
Oil Co. which would show how the
original trust certificates had been
liquidated, F. B. Squire, secretary of
the Standard Oil Co., refused to pro-
duce the records on the ground that
the books would "disclose facts and
circumstances which may be used
against the Standard Oil Co., tending
to prove it guilty of offenses made
criminal by an act of Legislature OF
Ohio, passed April 19, 1898, entitled,
AN act to define trusts, and to provide
for criminal penalties, civil damages,
etc.. and because they may disclose
facts and circumstances which may be
used against myself personally as an
officer of said company, tending to
prove me guilty of offenses made GRIM
inal by the act aforesaid"
When the officers of the oil trust
thus frankly admit that the records of
the trust, if inquired into by an i'm
partial tribunal, would disclose facts
and circumstances tending to prove
, the trust officers guilty of criminal Of
fenses; when further, we have the pub
lie statement of Mr.. Rockefeller that
r "some too Jealous agents of the COM
pany have been guilty of bribery, but the
company did not uphold them, did not
encourage them;" ut is on record that
the trust did not discharge them) the
+ clumsy defense of the oil trust by Ajax
] seems irrational, and grossly antagon.
: istic to the truth as revealed by the
r confessions of agents and employees
of the trust, and the facts as estab
lished before courts, and state and fed
r eral legislative investigation.
/; Ajax tells us that he does not know
r what espionage means. Let no one be
q surprised at that. There are many
: other things the meaning of which
: must forever remain hidden from him
Q He does not know that an argument
/ based on ridicule instead of truth viii
Q topple for want of a firm foundation
t He does not know THAT it is of greater
e beneficial consequence to an individual
d or nation, both in its immediate an(
v ultimate results, that all men and com
9 binations of men should be made t.