Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-04-01
Over Acceptance Of John
D. RockefeIIer's Gift.
Standard Oil Company Talks
About Ministers.
oooers Says ministers Say Queer
Things"

W. York March 31.-H. II. Rogers,
,,;oa president and director of the Stand
ard Cul Co, today made a statement as
% the conduct of the Standard Oil Co..
nbich was evidently prompted by the
or,,icism of the prudential committee of
,hs American board of foreign missions
g.. occ.pting a gift of $500 900 from John
D. Rockefeller
Mr. Rogers said:
ministers say queer things. DR.. Wash
,rqton GLADDEN. says that everybody
'p,ows that John d. Rockefeller has OBJ
tanned his money dishonesty. With as
much reason I could say that everybody
rnoss that DR.. GLADDEN. would not trust
the Ten Commandments for 10 days with
tho deacons of his church because they
would surely break some of them and
bend the rest.
slavery in certain sections of the Unit
ed States was legal until President Lin
coins emancipation proclamation. Re
hates on railroads were just as legal until
the passage of the interstate commerce
commission act. After an exhaustive in
vestigation by this industrial commission
authorized by Congress June IS, 1898. in Il
review Of evidence the commission report
%, as follows:
"'it has been charged rs n matter of
general belief on the part of almost all
the opponents of the Standard Oil Co.
that these determinations in various
forms nave been continually received.
even up to date. On the other hand
these charges have been denied in toto
and most cmphatically bv every repre-
sentative of the Standard Oil Co. with
reference to all cases excepting one.
which they claim was mistake. the
amount of freight due being promptly
paid on discovery of the error. The
Standard Oil Co. not merely challenged
the opponents to bring forth procf of any
ease. but produced many letters from
leading officials of railroads to show that
the company had in no case received any
favOrs or asked for them
II became known here. today. that prior
to the final action of the prudential COM
mttee of the American board of commits
s0ners Of foreign missions in accepting
the S0G1 gift rendered by John d.
Rockefeller. 4 number of prominent men,
hers Of the board ut Il meeting held in this
city considered the matter at length. AS
n result the parties to the conference is
sncd a state mcnt in which they declare
that they did not consider that the ac-
ceptarcr % tn" gift would compromise
the board in any way. Among those who
signed the statement We're Rev. ]. w.
Cooper. secretary of the American Mis-
siOnary Association: Rev. e. II. Rich
ards. secretary Of the International Con-
Il
A. H. Bradford. tx moderator of the Ma
tonal Congregational Conference; Rev.
Edward L. TEcrsol secretary of the
American Bible Society: William Fl.
Ward. editor of the New York Indepen-
dent; Rev. J. J. Merrill. president of Fisk
University, Nashville. Tenn: Rev. Frank
K. Sanders dean of Yale University Di-
vinlty school: Rev. DIR. Imam Abbott.
Rev. Charles l.. Jefferson. pastor of the
Broadway Tabernacle. and Rev. Henry
II. Hubbell of Greenwich. CT.
The statement issued as result of the
meeting was as follows:
THE prudential committee of the Amer
lean board has been requested to refuse
certain gift for its missionary work on
the ground that the giver is the president
Of corporation whose business methods
are extensively criticised by the press and
public
Compliance with this request would
put upon tn" board-whch is a corporate
trust created for the definite purpose of
maintaining missions in foreign lands
the very grave responsibility of refusing
money which has been given for the de-
Velopment of the work entrusted to its
care or in aid of particular objects for
which it is trustee.
1T would also establish the precedent
OF snbjecting individual gifts to n scru-
'iny not heretofore regarded as practical
NJ" for a mission board to exercise.
We do not. therefore consider that the
acceptance of this gift compromises the
n"9rd in any way, and VIC cannot recon-
mend any departure from the long estab-
Ushed usage of the hoard IN receiving
win thank'ulncss funds entrusted to its
care for the prosecution Of its important
work