Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1906-11-23

NtNSh ~ u bGlSluullS. ~
orney General asks that the combina-
ion be declared unlawful and that it
'e enjoined from entering any contract
n combination in restraint of trade
The following statement was pre-
Jared and made public by Attorney
ieneral Moody:
I'm June. by direction Of the Presi-
'ent, Messrs. kellogg and Morrison
we're appointed by ME special assistant
ttorneys general to act with Assistant
20 the Attorney General Purdy TO
nake an investigation of the relations
# the Standard Oil Company Of New
Jersey to the business of refining,
transporting, distributing and selling
Ill throughout the United States; to
iscertain all the facts, and to report
whether or not in their opinion there
has been n violation of the Sherman
antitrust law by the Standard Oil
Company of New Jersey or the per-
sons or corporations associated with or
managing it. Counsel have completed
that duty n the report of their in
~vestigation has received careful con-
Sideration by the President and his
Cabinet.
Charges Set Forth by Moody.
1.-The information available to the de-
partment tends to show:
That the various corporations and lin
tied partnerships 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, trans
ported and sold in the United States fer
domestic use, and about the same pro-
portion 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, Town to the present time.
That these persons now surviving are
John D.. Rockefeller, William Ro"6@fel-
Ter, Henry IL. Rogers, Henry NJ. EIoslac,
John d. Archbold, Oliver ii. Payne and
Charles NJ. Pratt.
That the design throughout or The
persons having control of the enteforise
has been to suppress competition in the
production, transportation and sale OF RI
fined oil. and to obtain, as far as p%ossloie,
monopoly therein.
ludl UelWecu LOW anu iIS- "S ~
sign was effected through agreements
made between many persons and CORPORA
tions engaged in this business.
That in 1882 the result aimed mt was
made more certain by vesting in nine
trustees (including five of the a%bova-nain-
| ed persons) sufficient stock in the toirty-
nine corporations concerned TO enable the
trustees to control their operations in
such a way that competition between
them was suppressed.
That this plan was acted Hpon until 1t
was declared unlawful by The supreme
Court 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 individual defendants, as a ma
iority of the liquidating trustees. were
pretending to liquidate the trust. but as
a matter of fact were managing all OF the
corporations in the same way an5 excr-
cising the same control over them.
That the individual defendants, IN 1899,
increased the stock of the Standard OIL
COMPANY of New Jersey from $10,OG0.pOO
to $11O,0O0.O 900; that said company was
then a producing and selling corporation,
and that they added to it's corporate pow
ers the power of purchasing stock in 9th
1 Y u oll ~ abN
powers exercised by the trustees undA- 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 If
the corporations heretofore held and con-
trolled by the trustees, paying therefor
by the issue of its own shares in OK
change; that the president of the board
of trustees became the president Of tae
Standard Oil Company of New JERSEY,
and that the same persons 1.-THE individual
lefendants) who had directed the bust
Tess of the trust then assumed the dirac
lion of the business of the Standard Oh
Company of New Jersey. and ever sine.
lave continued it.
That the purpose and effect of the
use of the Standard Oil Company of New
jersey as a holding company vas precise
ly the same as the purpose and effect of
the appointment of the trustees hereinbe-
fore referred to-namely, to suppress
competition between the corporations and
limited partnerships whose stock was first
held by the trustees and then by the
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey.
That by the foregoing methods. aided
by the establishment of railroad rates for
transportation which Disseminated in ia
vor of the corporations whose stock was
held by the holding company, that com.
pany has been enabled to obtain, in large
sections of the country, a monopoly OF
the sale of refine oil, with the resul,
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 ex'
tent still exists.
at is believed that these facts, to-
gether with others contained in the re.
port of the special counsel. justify and
require action by the United States In
the courts"
John d. Rockefeller Indicted.
John d. Rockefeller, NJ. G. Villas
treasurer Of the Standard Oil Com
pany Of Ohio; J. NJ. Robertson. secre
tary, and H. P. Mcintosh. diHs tor
were indicted at Findlay by the gram
jury, before which the recent oil In
quiry was ~reopened BY County Prosecu
tor David. Bench warrants for Rookie
Teller and the others indicted were 10
sued Immediately and placed in TIN
hands OF Sheriff Groves.