The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1906-11-24
The War on the Standard.

The War on the Standard.
st. Louis.-Petition filed in U.i.ed
States circuit court asking for disso-
tution of Standard Oil trust and per-
Dstual injunction restraining 70 con
Stdtuent companies from working with
Or paying dividends to parent COM
Dany.
New York.-Standard Oil shares
Cropped Is points, making net loss OF
$50 points since Roosevelt's war on
che trust began; total depreciation in
etock since president opened crusade,
$3.50. 000, 900; this Notwithstanding
quarterly dividends Of $40 per share.
Findlay, O.-Prosecuting attorney
Greeted by Attorney General Ellis to
keep grand jury In session; all Stand
ard Oil officials may be indicted; Of
@cials OF Standard Oil company Of
Ohio indicted agreed to surrender.
st. Louis, Mo.-The suit to break
up the Standard Oil trust has been
died IN the United States circuit court
acre. The petition asks:
That the court decree that the com-
tfnation and conspiracy are unlawful
under the Sherman antitrust act.
That the Standard Oil company be
snjoined, restrained and prohibited
9rom exercising any control over Its
EIned corporations, or any Of them,
BY the election Dr. appointment Of d.
gsctors or officers, or In any other
nanner.
That the subsidiary corporations be
.snjoined from declaring or paying any
dividends to the Standard Oil con
1any of New Jersey.
That the defendants, and each and
ell Of them, be enjoined from entering
Unto any contract, the purpose or eff
feet of which Is to restrain commerce
in petroleum and its products or to
n1onopolize the same.
The petition contains 1914 pages of
printed matter, or about 100000
words, and an additional "a pages of
exhibits, consisting of bylaws and
minutes of Standard OIL meetings and
organizations, and a map showing the
retail prices Of oil in every state and
territory Of the union.
What the Petition Alleges.
II is alleged In the petition that
John D. Rockefeller and his associ-
ates, the other individual defendants,
formed a conspiracy to monopolize
the commerce in petroleum and it's
products at an early date-about the
year 1870-and that the same individ-
,uals have controlled the combination
during all these years, in all its forms,
and now control it. 1t was, therefore,
deemed wise to state in the petition
the complete history and growth of
this conspiracy.
History of the Conspiracy.
The petition is logically divided into
three periods. During the first one
Of these periods, from 1870 to 1882.
the combination assumed the form Of
q simple conspiracy-that is to say.
the defendants, with the Standard Oil
company of Ohio. acted together to
suppress competition and control the
Oil business.
During the second period, from 1882
to 1899, the combination assumed the
form Of a trust agreement, whereby
shout 40 separate corporations en-
gagged in the same business, turned
over the management Of their bust
ness to nine trustees, of which these
sndividual defendants were the major
fly, so that these defendants con
troiied all Of these corporations.
In March, 1892, the supreme court
Of Ohio declared this trust agreement
void and ordered its dissolution.
Thereupon, on March 81. 1892, the
trust certificate holders met in New
ork and resolved to dissolve the trust
and appointed John d. Rockefeller
Henry NJ. Flagler, William Rockefel
Ter, John D. Archbold. Benjamin
Brewster, Henry H. Rogers, Wesley
II. .Tilford and o. B. Jennings as
~iiquidating trustees-the individual
defendants being a majority Of these
trustees.
The manner Of liquidation was no
TO sell the property and divide the
proceeds among -Lne CerIlIICdIe HoIu
ers, nor to return to each person in
%divfdually the property placed in thu
trust, put all Of the stocks in eacl
Of the companies were divided int
portions in proportion to the numbe'
Of trust certificate shares outstanding
90 that Rockefeller and his associate:
continued to control all these corpor
atoms as before.
Birth of the Present Trust.
The petition then takes up the thirt
period Of the conspiracy, beginning
with the formation Of the present
trust.
In order to accomplish this, in Jan
uary. 1893, they increased the stool