The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-08-30
Notorious Monopoly Pleads
for Leniency from Lts
|! Aroused Victims.
Be.Dails Prosecutions and
, Expresses q, = Great 4. Fear Z of f.
/ Con,petition Abyoad.
Journal Special Service.

Journal Special Service. p .1r-.t,% MI
New York, Aug. 30.-The recent
sledge-hammer attacks on the Standard
Oil trust, instituted by the government
and continued by a Succession Gifted
eral grand :iuries, have struck a vital
spot u. a., '.5
/ The corporation, whose growth; for
many years has been accompanied By a
relentless -throtHng Of composition,
tition from an unexpected source SER
ieusly threatens its revenues. Sd. !,
In statement, sent out as apaid4ad-
vertisement to all the big papers. Of, the
country last night, the company makes
a remarkable plea for a. cessations Of
what it describes as the tshostile atti-
tude of the American press, = pointing
out plaintively s'the depressing select
OF the same upon it's foreign trade"
snubber by Foreign Nation. : 49,: !. q.
GA warning note,'' sounded by the
head Of the trusts export department.
sible; for the complete change in the at
titude Of the corporation toward its
critics. The head Of the, export de
partment has come to 'eview with deep
concern and alarm the damage and
menace to our foreign, commerce trace
able to the. persistent attacks by an IN
1uential section of *. the American
press. - ! :->.g :. 49, - ,C;.4l.
AS an evidence Of the hardships now
confronting the company. it is pointed
out that foreign. government recent
" refused it permission to erect q big
storage plant. Blame for this. how
ever. is laid with President Roosevelt,
coincident with his message to congress
regarding the Standard Oil company,
b. Terrified by Competition Z:;..
The trusts appeal for: clemency
reaches height of-paAhos in lamentaa
tion Of the fact that it is suffering
5keenly- from competition. in Europe. =
Notwithstanding our :ramifeed and
comprehensive channels Of distribution
in nearly every country in the worId,s''
the company says, (Which are tthe out
come of many years Of hard work and
OF great expenditure, we find the COM
petitiVe obstacles greater from year to
year because Of the rapidly developinr
petroleum n Industries Of other sotllssls
The great American oil Industry IL
= thus ENDANGERED, the company clalna
mot its product; that is under criticism
IN this country, but that abroad every
attack on the company is translated by
rivals into an attack upon it's oil.
): X :. Temper Criticism, It Begs., = = :
y. The appeal remarks that the largely.
Increasing stock Of petroleum in this
country emphasizes the necessity of. ex-.
tending rather than curtailing it's out
put. 49,, = ..::.. sat .I,E.E
/: But, says the richest and most pow
.erful TRUST in the world, if the attacks
and criticisms are to be continued let.
them be. tempered, TO- the lamb that is,
being shorn.g Or, as, the appeal puts; it.
let, them he g formulated on lines not
calculated to give aid and comfort to
every foreign enemy and competitor,
The hostile attitude of the .Ameri-
can press complained Of by the trust
consists chiefly in. the habit the press
has of printing the reports Of successive,
federal grand iuries., which have in.
zdieted the trust 80 often now that the.
story has become tiresome: -, -
T.. Fears Big Fines. 9
The trust has been indicted for ille-
gal practicesAin Ohio, New York, Kan
sas, Missouri and Illinois. The indiv-
idual counts; in the various indictments
total tens of thousands - $50.
In the last week two federal grand
juries in Chicago returned ten indict-
ments against the corporation, enumer-
ating 6,428 counts. In these alone the:
fines involved reach the enormous total
Of 28,560,000. The possibility that
the fines may have to be paid sooner or
later Eliminates the trust IS desire to
escape dangerous competition in Eu-
rope. y. + - a.. - T.. ss :. =,