The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-10-11
OIL TRUST ATTORNEYS
 OBJECT TO EVIDENCE
OPPOSED TO ITS CHARACTER As PRESENTED TO OHIO
 COURT.

I'm Every Instance Judge Rules i'm En-
 vOr of Osecution-Testimony of
 John D. Rockefeller Given in 1sos Ad-
 mitted--NIrs. Ida M. Butts, Stem
 daughter of the Late G. M. Rice. ~.
 Independent OH Renner, the First
 Witness.
 F1ndlay, O.. Oct, lo.--A1uch legal argument and little actual progress marked the second day of the trial of the Standard oil company for conspir- acy against trade. The argument was caused by the objection of the attor~ neys for the Standard to the character of evidence to be placed before the jury by the prosecution. In every in- stance. however, the ruling of Judge Banker favored the prosecution. The result was that the testinonvs of John D. Rockefeller given in 1898 in the litigation of the Standard oil trust be- fore the supreme court of the state was admitted and carefully read to the jury by Attorney Phelps for the prose- cution. This consumed the morning session and part of the afternoon.
 Mrs. Ida M Butts, the first witness ot the trial, was then called to +ha stand. Mrs. Butts said she was tha setpdaughter of the late George M. Rice. an Independent oil retlner of Ma rietta, Ohio. She had also acted as MT. Rices private secretary. and was the executrix of his will, She produc- ea' at the request of Attorney Phelps. the certificate of original trust stock owned by Mir. Rice and scrip showing title to fractional shares of stock in all of the twenty subsidiary companies of the original trust. The text of these certificates was read into the record and Mrs Butts excused.
 The final wrangle of the day began and lasted until adjournment al 4.30 It resulted when Mir Phelps offered as evidence a certified copy of the record In the office of the secretary of state of New Jersey, showing that in 1898 the standard Oil company of that state changed it's corporate existence by in- creasing the number of its directors rom three to nine. 1t was argued Inv tho defense that this certificate was unauthenticated and iYlcompetent Judge Banker reserved decision on th,s point until tomorrow.
 Attorney General Ellis made his first appearance as an active participant in the prosecution and sat by Attorney .l Phelps. The defense was taken care of by Attorneys Elliott. Kline Trop. ana I Tolhs.
 Answering the objection of MT. Kline l the pleadings in the case, MT, Phelns said the Valentine law, under which the suit was brought, was as broad as the world and as strong as Sampson; that under it there was no necessity of I proving any trust agreements or nam ing the parties in any trade conspiracy. It was enough to show the result of that conspiracy However, it was the intention of the prosecution to show that the nine men who formed origin ally the Standard Oil trust of 1882 have ever since-at least all of them who are living-continued to dominate the oil industry of the state; that they aban- doned the trust agreement when com pelled to do so by the state only to en- ter another form in New Jersey, which | now continues.
 1 MT. Kline opposed this with the as- sertion that there was no law prolib- iting the stockholders of the Standard | oil company of Ohio from selling their stock to a New Jersey corporation. He further pointed out that the subsidiary companies named in the complaint were all declared by the prosecution to be under the same ownership, hence how could there be a conspiracy such as is condemned by the Valentine antitrust law. The right of the New Jersey coma papy to own the stock of any other company he said, could not be ques- toned in an Ohio court, and he asserted that the only evidence which was con- potent for the prosecution to bring for ward was evidence showing conspiracy against trade by the defendant compa- nies in Hancock county, Ohio.