The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1906-11-23
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Cen
eraI Topics from
the Capital.
Novem Der II, 1906.

w Hlle tue prosecution W the
Standard Oil Company will cen
ter in ST. Louis, the interest of
Washington is very firmly fixed
upon it because the prosecution
is engineered by the Department
Of Justice here. and Attorney
General Moody has announced
that he is confident of winning
the suit.
There Is liCtle doubt in lie
minds OF people who have fol-
lowed the Investigations made
by the government. that there
is ample ground for convicting
the combine aud dis>ol,iug il
under the Sherman Antitrust
Act. Tue report of the Bureau
of Corporations on tie subject
last summer showed cOuclusRely
tbat the Standard Oil Company
had been guilty of Offences that
warranted civil prosecution and
probably criminal Indictment as
we'll. The statement of Attorney
General Moody this week when
the suit was first brought gave
full. although we'll condensed. ac
count OF the rise OF the trust and
showed tha' it was civilly if not
crlmlually responsible on several
different accounts. The history
OF the organization dates back to
1870. whel .. a. the Attorney Gen
eral says, it was IA simple con
Splracy within the meaning of
the law. After it had been pos
ecuted on this account it orig
mated the idea of the trust aud
when it was ousted from this 30
>itlon. il formed the Standard
OIL Company of New jersey.
which "a holding company con
trolled seventy subsidiary corpo
ratiouS. 1t was he parent OF all
trusts in this country and from a
capital OF ten million was enabled
TO increase its stock to $llO.
900, 900 and in the past eight
years has paid dividends of over
$500, 900, 600; its disbursements
Oh the average being grea' er than
that of the United States Gov
eminent itself.
The prosecution instituted by
the government has already had
very great apparent effect on
the price of stock which mas
gone down from 1910 TO 800
share, at which figure consider
able blocks have changed hands
although the stock is not one in
which trading is usually carried
Oh 1t is said that in the fall
OF the next few weeks the paper
value of ROckefeller'> fortune has
Shrunk $l1 900 900. but it is to
he very SerlOuSl Y doubted whether
any of the Standard Oil stock.
which has been sold at the lower
inquire has gone outside the strong
boxes of the charter members Of
the combine.
1t is generally believed that
John ID. Rockefeller. William
Il ckefellrr, Ii. II. Rodgers. John
ID. Archbold, and number of
other of leading lights of the
combine have merely taken advan
tage of the opportunity to pocket
few hundred more shares of the
stock at what are probably bar
gain counter prices.
The question remains, and it
has not been answered by the
government, what the effect will
he if the United States wins the
suit. 1t will he remembered that
when the original trust was dis,
solved, the so called liquidators
took ten years to wind up the
affairs of the company. conduct.
ing meanwhile on exactly the
same principle as they did be-
fore. Ii an injunction is secured ,
which forces the winding up of
the present company, it is diff
cult TO see how the public will be
materially benefited. The con
troll of the companies will of he.
ceSsity remain i'll the hands of the
men who are now directing it,
and while the methods of the
company may be changed, it
is not likely that the results will
be- There is the chance, how
ever, and Attorney General
Moody's statement contains the
threat, that criminal prosecution
may follow the civil suit. 1t
seems almost impossible to i'm
agine either Mr.. Rockefeller or
John ID. Archibald undergoing
Jail sentence, but if the threat
of such sentence were made, the
defendants, knowing very we'll
that they deserved the penalty,
it might have some effect in re
ducing the exactions of the cor
porations from which the country
has all along suffered.
Secretary Metcalf is now on his
way back to Washington bring
ing with him full report on the