The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-11-15
AN OILY RECORD.
Attorney General Moody en-
folds the Standards Methods
In a Petition In Equity Filed at
st. Louis.
ASKS AN INJUNCTION
To Prevent 1t From Doing
Business as Constituted.
Prosecution Is Begun Under the
Sherman Antitrust Law.

| AA4SNAt4tG0 proceedings dSdA4Sl LII
Standard Oil company Of New Jersey
under the Sherman anti trust act, by
fling in the United States circuit court
| at St. Louis, a petition in equity against
| it and its seventy constituent corpora
lions and partnerships and seven in
| dividual defendants, asking that the
combination be declared unlawful and
in the future enjoined from entering
into any combination in restraint of
| trade etc.
The following statement was prepared
and made public by Attorney General
Moody today:
I'm June last by direction Of the pres
ident. Messrs. Kellogg and Morrison
were appointed by me special assistant
attorneys general to act with assistant
/ to Attorney General Purdy to make an
/ investigation Of the relations of the
| Standard Oil company of New Jersey
to the business of refining. transporting,
distributing and selling oil throughout
the United States to ascertain all the
facts and report whether or not IN thel-
opinion there has been a violation of
the Sherman anti trust law by the
Standard Oil company of New Jersey or
the persons or corporations associated
with or managing it. The counsel nave
completed that duty and the report OF
their investigation has received careful
consideratio by the president and ms
cabinet
1.-The information available to the de-
partm tends to show that the Varl-
CORPORATIONS. the uu1llGu partner
ships under the control in the manner
hereinafter stated Of the Standard OIL
company of New Jersey. produce,
transport and sell about 80 per cent
of the refined oil produced. transport
ed and sold in the United States for
domestic use and about the same
proportion of refined Oil exported from
the United States: that this share Of
the business has been procured by a
course of action, which beginning IN
1870. has continued under the direction
of the same persons in the main, down |
to the present time that these persons !
now surviving are John D Rockefeller,
William Rockefeller, Henry H. Rogers
Henry M. Flagler, John D. ArchDold' I
Oliver H. Payne and Charles NJ Pratt;
that the design throughout OF the per 1
sons having control of the enterprise
has been to suppress competition IN /
the production, transportation ana SAFE
of refined oil and to obtain, as lar as
DOssibIe a monopoly therein; that De |
tween 1870 and 1882 the design was
effected through agreements made pc
tween many persons and corporations /
engaged in this business; that IN 1851, /
the result aimed at was made more |
certain by vesting in nine trustees I'm I
Guiding five of the above named per-
sons), sufficient stock IN the thirty
nine corporations concerned TO enable
the trustees to control their operations /
in such a way that competition be
tween them was suppressed; that TINS |
plan was acted upon until 1t was de-
of Ohio in an action against the /
Standard Oil company Of OHIO, one OF
said corporations, in 1892; that during
the seven years following the same IN
dividual defendants. as a majority OF /
the iuuidating trustees, were pretend
ing to liquidate the, trust, but as mat
ter of fact were managing all OF the /
CORPORATIONS in the same way ana Sx-
ercisine the same control over them; 4
that the Individual defendants, IN 1899.
Increased the stock of the standard Oil
company of New Jersey from S1O,OOo'-
600 to $4,000, 900; that said company
was then a producing and selling cor
poration and tn ose added to It's corpor-
ate powers, the power OF purchasing
" the powers exhibited by the trustees
under the unlawful trust agreement OF
1882: that the Standard Oil company
of New Jersey. then taking the place
of the trustees, acquired all of the
stock of the corporations heretofore
held and controlled by the trustees,
having therefor by the issue of its own
shares in exchange; that the president
of the board of trustees became the
president of the Standard OIL company
of New Jersey and the same persons,
The Individual defendants, who had df-
rected the business then assumed the
direction Of the business of the Stand
ard Oil company of New Jersey ana
ever since continued it; that the pur-
pose and effect of the use of the stand
ard Oil company of New Jersey as a
holding company was precisely the
same ss the purpose and effect of the
of the trustees herein
before referred to, namely, to suppress
competition between the corporations
and limited partnerships, whose stock
was first held by the trustees ana then
by the Standard Oil company OF New
Jersey: that by the foregoing meth oos.
aided by the establishment of railroad
rates for transportation which dis
in favor of the corpora
tons whose stock was held by the
holding company, the company has
been enabled to obtain, in large sec
fions of the country a monopoly of tn e
sale of refined oil, with the result that
the prices to the consumer WITHIN the
territory where the monopoly prevails
are very much higher than within the
territory where competition to some
extent still exists.
1T is believed that these facts. to-
gether with others contained in the
report of the special counsel justify and /
require action by the United States in
the courts Accordingly a petition in
equity under the provisions OF the
Sherman act. has this day been filed
against the Standard Oil company OF
New Jersey and 20 other corporations
and limited partnerships and the seven
Individual defendants before named, in
the Eighth Judicial circuit at st LOUIS,
to have the said combination ad1udg
ed and decreed to be unlawful, and
that the holding and control by the R
Standard Oil company of New jersey
Of the stocks of the 20 corporations be
declared unlawful and the said corpor-
atoms be prohibited from declaring or
paying any dividends to the Standard {
Dill company of New Jersey and be en-
Joined from entering into or perform
ng any contract or combination to re-
strain trade and commerce or to mon
1polize trade in the future.
1.-The question whether any action Of (
A different nature should be taken IS
reserved for future onsfderation The
is now pending in the