The San Francisco call., 1905-02-17
President Orders a
Sweeping InVeS-
tigatiOn.
begin at Once; Go to the
Bottom; Report EARLY"
His Instructions.
Belief in Washington That Criminal
Prosecutions Will Follow
Inquiry.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

CALL BUREAU, POST BUILDING,
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.-.Begin at
once. Go to the bottom. Report early"
This was the substance of President
Roosevelt's message to-day to the De-
partment of Commerce and Labor in
response to the Campbell resolution
adopted by the House yesterday re-
questing an investigation of the Stand
ard Oil Company. 1t means the begin
ming of an investigation of the most i'm
portant industrial corporation in the
United States. In the opinion of author
tiles the resolution will result in GRIM
inal prosecutions for violation of the
Federal antitrust laws.
President Roosevelts order was pro-
mulgated at the White House after a
conference with Representative Camp
bell, who went over the Kansas situa
ton in detail. The operations of the
Standard Oil Company which resulted
in the closing of 1000 oil wells in that
State were fully described. The Presi-
dent was astonished to learn of the
extreme steps taken there to crush out
competition. He expressed himself
as much interested in the subject, and
told Campbell the machinery of the
National Government would be put into
operation at once, not only to investi-
gate in Kansas, but to inquire into all
the doings of the Standard Oil Com
pany and it's correlated corporations.
FAR-REACHING ORDER.
President Roosevelt dictated the or
der to Secretary Loeb and it was sent
to Secretary Metcalf, who in turn sent
1t to Commissioner Garfield of the Bu-
reau of Corporations. After this the
President had a conference with Gar
field for preliminary discussion of
plans for the investigation.
Commissioner Garfield considers the
scope of the Campbell resolution much
broader than any ever considered in
Congress bearing upon an investigation
Of any kind of combination of capital
lists. 1t means that specific charges of
restraint of trade in Kansas will be
established and all methods practiced
by officers and agents of the company
in all its business operations in this
country will be gone into. This includes
it's various pipe lines, of which there
are thousands of miles; its tank trans
portation service, which employs at
least 10000 private cars, and it's steam
boat service.
HOKE SMITH ON THE GRILL.
Secretary Hitchcock to-day gave out
a statement arraigning as a gigantic
monopoly that present lease by the
Indian Territory Illuminating Oil Com
pany of the right to prospect for oil
and gas throughout the entire area of
the Usage Indian Reservation and ex-
planning the agreement reached several
days ago for cutting off more than
one-half of the lands operative under
this lease during the next ten years.
The statement sets forth that what is
known as the Usage oil lease, granting
the exclusive right to prospect, develop
and sublet for oil and gas throughout
the entire 100000 acres of the Usage
Indian lands, was granted for ten
years by the then Secretary of the In
terror, Hoke Smith, on March 16, 1896,
to Edwin B. Foster. but that after
a checkered existence" the lessee is
known as the Indian Territory Hum
mating Oil Company.
TERMED A PUBLIC SCANDAL"
1T was says this statement, "one
of the most gigantic monopolies ever
issued for an individual or company by
any Secretary of the Interior. The
original lease was nothing short of a
public scandal"
Secretary Bliss Investigated the lease
with a view to canceling it, but found
he could not legally do So The state
ment says Secretary Hitchcock espe-
cially opposed the extension of the
original lease because the company is
obtaining from the Indians practically
so per cent of the royalty accruing to
the Indians who own the property
while the sub-lessees provide the capi-
tal An amendment to the Indian ap-
preparation bill incorporating the final
conclusion reached by the various in
terests and the department, intended to
protect both the Indians and the sub
lessees, cuts the lands operative under
the lease to 6S0,o00 acres.
KANSAS WAR ON TRUSTS.
TOPEKA, Kans., Feb. 16.-To sue
cessfully fight the trusts within its
borders constitutional convention
may be called to broaden the powers Of
the Kansas Legislature, the bills strik-
ing at trusts, particularly those dealing
with oil, having met with so many OBJ
iections on constitutional grounds that
a sentiment in favor of a new consti-