The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-10-12
'IMMUNE FROM
PROSECUTION
President of Manhattan Oil
Company Used as Witness
Against the Standard.
EVIDENCE OF CONSPIRACY
DOES NOT COMPETE WITH JOHN
DIS CONCERN.
EVIDENCE OF CONSPIRACY


DIS CONCERN.
Findlay, o., Oct 11.-Evidence was
brought out by the state today in the
trial Of the Standard Oil company Of
Ohio for conspiracy against trade.
showing the ownership of the Manhat-
tan oil company of Ohio to be in the
General Industrial Development COM
pany. limited, of London, England, also
THAT the Manhattan. which buys and
ships crude oil, does not compete with
the Standard, but does compete with
Independent companies.
These facts were brought out in the
testimony of +. II. Cuthbert president
of the Manhattan. A similar criminal
suit to that on trial is pending against
his company, and he testified under the
order of the court, which renders him
immune from future criminal prosecu-
ton. This course was taken at the
suggestion of the prosecution, upon the
appeal of Mr.. Cuthbert to the court for
protection.
Books Were Produced.
The witness had been summoned and
ordered to bring the books of his COM
pany showing the record of stockhold-
efS meetings. Inc DOCKS were pro-
duced. The record of the last annual
meeting showed that Mr.. Cuthbert had
been elected president by voting, under
power of attorney. l .495 shares of stock
owned by the English holding COM
pany; that this comprised the entire
stock Of the company with the eXcep-
ton of twelve shares, of which one
each is held by the president and direc
tors of the company, who are all resi-
dents of Lima, o.. the home of the COM
pany. Mr.. Cuthbert said he had been
president since 1908, and he had held
the same power of attorney since that
time. He knew nothing about the Eng
lish company, had never seen any one
connected with it, but had corresponded
with J. w. Francis, its secretary, and
w. w. Johnston, its managing direc-
tor. whose addresses were London. He
RENTS money to them. Mr.. Cuthbert
said he had been connected with the
company about eight years. and prior
TO his election as president had been
it's controller
Only Pipe Line Business.
Explaining the nature of the bust
ness done by the Manhattan, Mr. Cuth-
bert said that before he became it's
president the company did a general
oil business. that it owned producing
properties. pipe lines and a refinery at
it's pipe line to the Ohio Oil company
but he did not know who was now Op-
Grating the refinery at Galatea. The
Manhattan company now does eXclu-
sively pipe line business. In doing it,
il buys the oil of the producer, trans
ports il to storage stations and sells it
TO S. P. Trainer. purchasing agent for
the Standard, who also buys oil from
Joseph Seep, treasurer of the Buckeye
Pipe Line company. In what is known
as the south Lima field, where the
Manhattan and Buckeye pipe lines both
buy oil. the price paid to the producer
is cents g barrel less than in the
north Lima field, where what are re-
garded as the independent companies
make their purchases.
Claimed Small Profits.
Asked to explain why this was, Mr.
Cuthbert said: Ito protect our pipe
lines from the encroachment of COM
petitors."
who are your competitors?' asked
State Attorney Phelps.
THE National Refining company of
Findlay and the Paragon Oil company
of Toledo"
Did you pay cents barrel more
for oil in the north Lima field than
Purchasing agency"
Yes"
Mr. Cuthbert then admitted that the
profits of his company in the north
Lima field were very small, If any.
The Indiana Field.
Prosecutor David asked the witness
about the purchases in the Indiana ter
ritory covered by the pipe lines of the
company. He said the Sun Pipe Line
company and the Indiana Pipe Line
company were competitors in that field,
but the price there was the regular
market price.
The witness said his company bought
oil for transportation at the wells of the
Ohio company, and in doing so did the
business with F. S. Bates, its Secre-
tary, at Oil City, Pa. Asked if Mr..
Bates did not use the telegraph wire Of
the Buckeye Pipe Line company in do
ing business with the Manhattan, Mr..
Cuthbert said he did not know, that the
kilograms from Mr.. Bates were on the
blanks of the Buckeye company.
Would Be lncriminated.
In the preliminary skirmish regard
ing the Interpretation of the immunity
clause of the Dever law, the court ruled
that the witness would have to make
special objection to some questions
which he held would tend to criminate
him if he answered. The question to
which witness objected was: Where
does your company keep its books
showing the record of proceedings of
the last stockholders meeting?"
4 The state had Frank c. Shank, dep
&uty county auditor of Hancock coun-
z ty, sworn. He identified several tax
certificates on file in the auditors office.
showing that Theodore NJ. Tolles of %
Broadway, New York, was tax agent
for the Standard Oil company of Ohio.
the Buckeye Pipe Line and the Ohio
Oil company.