The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-07-20
STANDARD OIL DOOM
DISSOLUTION or CORPORATION IS
 AIM or INTERPRETATION.
Moody Laying Deep rIans---success in the Rail Mergcr, Paper and E.le-
 vntor Cnser Gives Hope of

Washington specia, to Chicago Rec ord Herald
 Dissolution of the great standard oil trust may be the result of the prosecu- tions soon to be begun against that corporation by the government Assis- tant Attorney Purdy, who has direct charge of tho preparation of the pros- pective cases, returned to Washington today from St. Paul, where for two weeks he has been in consultation with Special Counsel Kellogg of the latter city and District Attorney Morrison of Chicago. as to plans under way, there is good authority for the statement that the administration is aiming at . more vital object than fines or even impris- onment for the trust offenders.
 The cases against Standard oil will be made under tine conspiracy act It is of recent memory that conspiracy In restraint of trade ir. violation of the provisions of the sherman anti trust law resulted in the dissolution of the Northern Securities Company More recently the government won another sweepi ig victory in the courts and dis solved the western paper trust. The same sort of success met the move mcnt against the elevator trust in California.
 Now the government is going after the greatest trust of all--the trust of trusts--and the evidence in hand is such as to show striking parallels in the cases of note that have gone be- fore anS those that are about to be instituted. The breaking up of the monster Standard oil combination may come as culmlnating grand climax Of the Roosevelt administration. and in the light of todas's developments per sons in Washington have had recalled to them with striking force these words spoken by President Roosevelt shortly before he adjournment of Congress-:
 The prosecution of the Standard oil Company is the most important thing in this Administration"
 President Roosevelt probably was thinking of the great possibilities here with stated when he spoke.
 The parent Standard oil Company, driven nut of ohios its native state, by the unrelenting activity of the officials there, liquidated and recognized under the laws of New Jersey. the foster mother of trust. The Northern Secur- ities merger was a New Jersey insti- tltion. The Northern Securities Com bany broke up The Standard Oil Com pany. according to the masses of evil dence gathered by the officials of the Department of Justice and the special counsel employed to assist the gov ernmeDt. has bean guilty of operations Iii restraint of trade even more pro- nounced than in the case of the afore- mentioned corporation.
 As a result of the recent copferences between Assistant Attorney General Purdy and the governments special counsel at St. Paul. followed by yes terday's conference between Attorney General Moody and Mir. Morrison in New York, much ground preliminary to the actua. institution of suits against the standard oil Company has been covered. It has not been decided, how ever. just how many indictments will be sought, nor how many different kinds of cases will be instituted.
 If 1t is decided that only one case sf all be instituted--and there are strong at present that the plan will be along that line--that one case will be similar to that brought against the Northern Securities Company, which sent the merger to the scrap heap If other cases are begun. they, too. will be brought under the Sherman act and will have for their object the pun- ishment of the corporation by fines on one hand and the criminal prosecution of individuals. with prison sentences in view, on the other.