The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1906-11-23
The War on the Standard.


st. Louis.-Petition filed in United
States circuit court asking for disso-
luton OF Standard Oil trust and per
petual injunction restraining 20 con
stituent companies from working with
or paying dividends to parent com
pany
New York. Standard Oil shares
dropped IS points. making net loss Of
80 points since Roosevelts war on
the trust began: total depreciation in
stock since president opened crusade,
$4,000 900: this Notwithstanding
quarterly dividends of $40 per share.
Findlay. O.-Prosecuung attorney
directed by Attorney General Ellis TO
keep grand jury in session; all Stand
ard oil officials may be indicted; Of
fcials OF Standard Oil company of
Ohio indicted agreed TO surrender.
st. Louis. Mo-The suit TO break
up the Standard Oil trust has been
filed in the United States circuit cour.
here The petition asks:
bination and conspiracy are unlawful
under the sherman antitrust act.
That the Standard Oil company be
enjoined, restrained and prohibited
from exercising any control over its
allied corporations. or any OF them.
by the election or appointment Of d.
rectors or officers. or in any other
manner
That the subsidiary corporations be
enioined from declaring or paying any
dividends 10 the Standard Oil com
pany Of New Jersey.
That the defendants. and each and
all of them. be enjoined from entering
into any contract. the purpose or eff
feet OF which is 10 restrain commerce
in petroleum and its products or to
monopolize the same.
The petition contains 1914 pages OF
printed matter. or about 100000
words. and an additional 81 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 its
products at an early date-about the
year 1S7G-and that the same individ
uals have controlled the combination
during all these years. in all it's forms
and now control IT, 1t was. therefore
deemed wise to state ia the petition
the complete history and growth Of
this conspiracy.
History Of the Conspiracy.
The petition is logically divided int
three periods. During the first one
Of these periods. from 1870 to 1852
the combination assumed the form Of
a simple cOnspiracy-tha is TO say
the defendants. with the Standard OF
company Of Ohio. acted together c
suppress competition and control the
oil business.
During the second period. from lSS.
TO 1899. the combination assumed thu
form Of a trust agreement. WHEREBY
about 40 separate corporations en-
gagged in the same business, turnel
over the management OF their bust
ness TO nine trustees. of which thes
individual defendants were the major
ity. so that these defendants cor
trolled all OF these corporations.
In March. 1892. the supreme cour
of Ohio declared this trust agreemen
void and ordered it's dissolution.
Thereupon. on March 81. 1892. tn
trust certificate holders met in Ne'
ork and resolved to dissolve the trus
and appointed John ID. Rockefelle
Henry NJ. Flagler. William Rockefe
Ter. John ID. Archbold. Benjami
Brewster. Henry II. Rogers. Wesle
H. Tilford and o. d. Jennings a
liquidating trustees-the individu;
defendants being a majority of thes
trustees.
The manner Of liquidation was M
TO sell the property and divide II
proceeds among the certificate hol
ers. nor 20 return 10 each person 1
dividually the property placed in II
trust. but all OF the stocks in eaC
of the companies were divided in
portions in proportion TO the numb
OF trust certificate shares outstandin
so that Rockefeller and his associate
continued 10 control all these corpc
atiOns as before.
Birth OF the Present Trust.
The petition then takes up the thi
period OF the conspiracy, beginir
with he formation Of the prese
trust
In order to accomplish this, in ia
uary. 1893. they increased the stoi