The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-10-10

the state ANTITRUST laws. Inc pendllt
prescribed is fine of from $50 to $500
or from six to twelve months impriSon-
ment.
Separate Trial for John D.
John D. Rockefeller was originally a
party to the suit. but was granted sep
arate trial. the date of which will de
pend on the success of the state in the
present proceedings. 1t is said that Mr..
Rockefeller will not be witness and
will not attend the trial.
The Buckeye Pipe Line company and
Manhattan Oil company, both state cor
porations are also defendants, but have
also secured separate trials.
The trial will be before Judge G.. G
Banker and a Jury The Standard will
be represented by general counsel of the
company, F. NJ Elliott of New York.
Virgil p Kline of Cleveland and James
o. Troup of Bowling Green, o.
Attorneys for Prosecution.
The prosecution will be conducted by
Prosecutor David of Hancock county, as
sisted by George F. Phelps. local at
tOrney.
Not hundred persons were present
when the court convened at o'clock.
Wade H. Ellis. attorney general of Ohio,
and o +. Harrison of his office were
present to aid the prosecution.
The work of selecting the jury began
without delay. Prosecutor David ac-
cepted the first twelve men drawn.
company however, had the court excuse
three of the twelve on their statement
that they had formed an opinion in the
case.
Case Outlined.
What the state expects to prove against
told to the jury by County Prosecutor
David Immediately en- the reconvening of
the court. Never in Ohio. he began. had
a jury been called upon TO try a defend
i'll, Is
laws in the probate court. The evidence
the state would adduCe. he said. would
be principally documentary. Mr.. David
then gave detailed explanation of the
Valentine antitrust law.
ORGANIZATION of Trust.
The Standard Oil trust" said the at
torney. was organized in 1882 by John d.
Rockefeller William Rockefeller. Henry
NJ Flagler, H. II. Rogers, John Arch
bold and a number of associates. The
trust" was controlled by nine trustees
This arrangement continued for ten
years during which time nineteen COM
panies subsidiary to the trust" but
controlled by it. were organized. In 1892
the total capitalization of the company
was sl02, 233, 200, with a surplus of go
100000.
Attorney General Wilson of Ohio. in
1892 charged that the trust agreement
made a monopoly, and this was explained
by Mr.. David. The trust was not then
in existence and had not come under the
common law.
New Plan Was Adopted.
At a meeting OF the board of stockhold-
ers of the trust, called to dissolve the
trust in compliance with the order of the
court he said there was present for the
company "a very great and learned law
yer by the name of Dodge. who intro
duced a resolution formally setting out
new plan of organization"
lot, ,,I@ til,
adopted. Mr.. Dodge was quoted by Mr.
David as saying TO the stockholders:
Your interests will be the same then
as now. Corporations will continue to
do business as heretofore and your pro-
portion of their earnings will not be
changed. You Will understand that A will
not get stock in one corporation and u
in another. but each will get his due pro-
portion in the ste cks of all
Same Trustees.
At this meeting Mr. David continued.
arrangements were made for winding up
the affairs of the trust, and liquidatiug
trustees were chosen. being the same IS
the old trustees. which he again named.
Seven years later, in 1899, he said John
d. Rockefeller and the same trustees
were still controlling the policies and
business of the Standard Oil trust, and
at that time only about 90 per cent of the
trust certificates had been exchanged
under the terms of the Dodge resolution.
Suit Brought by Monnett.
The contemplated proceedings insti-
tuted against the trust in 1898 by At
torney General Monnett of Ohio. but
which the supreme court of the state dis
missed, were here explained to the Jury
1t was during tendency of these proceed
ings. he said, that another form was
given the organization. The Standard Oh
company of New Jersey was organic I'll
as a holding company" with n capital
afS
ate power. which included the right TO
buy. hold and vote the stock of the other
corporations. John d. Rockefeller he
said. was the largest stock owner and was
years 1895 and 1901. Mr.. David said the
New Jersey organization issued sos, 600 O0c
OF capital stock and purchased nearly all
of the stock of the subsidiary companies
in the latter company.
Reply of Defense.
Replying, Mr.. Kline characterized as
mere matters of ancient history the rea-
ton of the original formation OF the trust.
The Standard Oil company. he said. was
controlled entirely by it's
stockholders; il was in no way trust; it
could not be said that any Of the state
ments of Mr.. David relative to the early
history of the organization were true.
but. if they were. they were not within
the limits of Hancock county and conse-
luently without the jurisdiction of the
court.
The company. he said. sold some oil at
retail in the county. and might own some
real estate here, but the statement that
Il was in any combination i'm restraint of
trade was entirely unsupported by the
facts.
The documentary evidence which the
began submitting. and which
Continued on Page z.