Durango semi-weekly herald., 1906-05-10
Of corporatIons earfleld, the presI. b

OF Corporations Garfield, the presi (
dent declares war on the Standard /
oil trust Garfield's investigation has
brought out strong evidence of the
violation OF law by the trust and OF |
the consequent attack by that COM
bine on the interests of the public. |
or the United States annual output
OF 26,000,OO0 barrels of refined oil,
the trust controls. directly or indirect |
ly. 23.000,000 barrels, and a like pro-
portion of petroleum's other finished
products. This gives the Standard
an ascendency in the market which
1t uses to make ruthless war on It's
puny competitors and on the people.
Sucn natural advantages as the trust
has gained are Increased by favors
which are allowed to it by the rail
roads. AS a consequence the price of
oil in the regions where the Standard
has the field entirely to itself is from
cents to 5 cents a gallon higher. &C.
cording to Garfield, than 1t Is in the
regions where the independent reiin-
ers are able to operate. AS half a
CtHt IL ShiiOh 10 Put hoWh py thS SA
perts as reasonable profit on re-
fined OIL the extent of the tribute
which the combine levies on the peo-
pie of the United States every year
reaches stupendous figures.
Unquestionably the president is
correct in saying that the investiga-
tion which the government has been
| making into the workings of the
| Standard oil monopoly is of capital
Importance to the people. Nor is
| anything that the president says
against the conduct of the railways
| in their affiliations with the trust too
| severe. Through the league which 1t
| has with certain railroads the com
bine is able to control the market
over the greater part OF the country,
and extort heavy tribute from the
Lpeople. Incidentally the president
points out that the Standard Is not
the only combine which profits by a
| coalition with the railways. The
| sugar trust gets similar favors from
the roads. though possibly not to the
extent OF those granted to its gigant-
ic neighbor. The sugar trust has less
capital than the oil combine, has
smaller revenue, and has little more
| competition, though not much. In
some of their transactions both are
law-breakers and public enemies. and
must be assailed by the law.
No intelligent, observant person
will need to be told that the task OF
curbing the pernicious activity OF
these monopolies is difficult. The
present administration has done more
in this direction than did all of Its
predecessors put together in all the
years which have passed since Har
rison in 1890 put his signature to the
Sherman antitrust act In some OF
its attacks it has succeeded. In 9th
ers 1t has failed. But the warfare is
only beginning. New attacks are tc
be made under conditions which
promise victory. In some of the
cases which have been made Out
against the oil trust the department
of justice, SO the president announces
is about to begin proceedings. This
time Commissioner Garfield has con
Quoted his work so as not to allow
the offenders the loophole of escape
which the packers ayailed themselves
of In the case which led to Judge
Humphreys decision. Moreover, Sen
ator Knox has prepared a bill which
is calculated to head off any sucf
defeats of justice as came in the
Humphrey fiasco. The war on the
trusts, as the presidents words will
show, and as the country had righ
to expect, Is only beginning. The
law officers of the government have
learned something from their pas
failures, and will make the attacks
henceforth on new lines. 1t is to bt
hoped that congress will quickly en-
act the Knox anti-immunity bill, ant
make 1t possible for the department
of justice to put stripes on the in
dividual culprits, as 1t vainly tried t.
do in the recent case against the
packers. OF course, the escape o
the packers a few weeks ago was {
respite only. 1t was not pardon
Evidence is being collected agains
them which can be utilized this tim,
without running into collision witt
4 the personal immunity barrier. Tit
Republican president and the Repub
lican party are resolved to bring al
sorts of corporations and combina
tions under the surveillance of tn,
law, and to enforce the law equal!
against the highest and the loves
in the country's social scale.-Globe
Democrat.
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