The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1906-11-22

Charges Standard and Its Seventy
Subsidiary Companies With Vio-
lation of Antitrust Law and
Prays For Injunction.
St. Louis, Mo.-The most serious
action ever taken against The Stand
ard Oil Company, and one that in
volves the continued existence of the
most powerful monopoly the world
has ever known, was instituted here
when the United States Government
applied for al Injunction, which, If
granted, will result in a dissolution
of the combination.
The suit will determine once for
all whether or not the Standard can
retain a comDlete monopoly of the oil
business IF the United States.
The Detition in%stituting the suit
was filed in the United States Circuit
Court by Frank B.. Kellogg, of s..
Paul, Mimi, special counsel for the
Government.
The Governments petition in the
suit is signed by William H. Moody.
United States Attorney Purdy. Frank
Kellogg, w. B. Morrison and +. 8.
Severance, assistants to the Attorney
General. The petition contains 194
pages, or about 100 5000 words, and
an additional e~ighty-four pages OF ex-
hibit, consisting of bv-laws and min
utes of Standard Oil meetings and
organizations and a mass showing
the retail prices of oil in every State
and Territory of the Union.
This great battle of the Govern
ment against the chief of the trusts
was opened with the filing of a peti-
ton in equity, asking that the oil oc-
topus be declared an illegal combine
ton in restrain of trade, and that it
and it's seventy constituent companies
and partnerships and the seven indi-
viduals who exercise control ov 2r
them be forever enioined from
further violation of the Sherman An
thrust law, aud, further, that the
constituent comnanies be restrained
from paying further dividends to the
parent company. The latter Draver
of the Government, if granted by the
Courts, will tie up the funds of the
constituent companies and bring to
a crisis the affairs of the great oil
monopoly.
But a more serious threat thar this
is contained in the closing paragraph
of a statement given put by ATTORNEY
General MOODY relative to the suit.
This threat is that later the Federal
Government NAV see fit to begin
criminal prosecutions against the
heads of the Oil Trust. the seven in
dividuals named in the bill of equity
as defendants in common with the
Standard Dill Company, of New Jer-
sey, and it's seventy constituents and
partnerships. These seven individ-
uals are John D. Rockefeller, William
Rockefeller, Henry H. Rogers, Henry
NJ. Flagler, John D. Archhold. Oliver
H. Payne and Charles H. Pratt. It IS
a threat of nrison bars.
The suit will probably be in litisa-
tion for a Ions time. The defendants
have one month to enter ~apDearanee,
and will probably make their first
move by demurriug to the bill in
equity. This will involve long and
tedious legal bv-Dlav. If the Court
fails to sustain the demurrer the de-
PENDANTS will then be obliged to ap-
pear in Court. II connection with
Governments special assistant Attor-
n~ey-General, Frank p. Kellogg, made
application before Judges Sanborn
and Adams for an order to bring non
resident defendants into the jurisdie.
ton of the Court.
If the Court fails to sustain the
expected demurrer of the Standard
Oils attorneys, the next thing il or.
der will he the taking of testimony
1t is considered probable that a spe-
cial commissioner will be appointed
to take the evidence in the case an
that he will certify the record tC the
United States Circuit Court of APP
peals, as was done in the Northern
SQPJITIfInC nQCn
Following this. will be the argu
ment before the Circuit Court of APP
peals, and then, If the Government
wins, the probable appeal of the Oh
Trust to the Supreme Court of the
United States.
The statement given out by Attor.
ney-General Moody is remarkable in
that in referring to the means by
which evidence against Standard Oh
has been procured for the present
prosecution, no reference is made tC
any other agency than that of the
special counsel of the Department OF
Justice. The investigation made by
the Bureau of Corporations is in nc
way alluded to. so that the danger
Of giving the Standard Oil people
immunity baths may be so far as
possible avoided. This precaution is
believed to have been taken with a
view not only to the success of the
civil suit instituted at st. Louis, but
to any criminal proceedings that may
be brought later against the seven
individuals named in the equity suit
and others who may be shown to
have been involved in the illegal tao
tics of the holding company and its
constituent companies and partner
ships.