Truth. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1901-1908, 1906-11-03
THE STANDARD OIL AND THE
NEW YORK CENTRAL CON-
VlCTlONS.

HaSty judgments on the SlSnlncance
of the trust and rebate convictions OF
last week are avoided by the press, in |
view of the fact that both cases have
vet to be reviewed by the higher |
courts, which may reverse last weeks
decisions. These preliminary con-
vicitions are salutary, however, in the
opinion of the Philadelphia Press,
because they dispel the impression,
industriously urged, that great cor
porations can not be convicted Tor
the crimes they commit and by which
they profit" The decision agains,
the New York Central for giving ia
vors to the Sugar Trust Is benefit
to every railroad in the country, adds
the same paper, and is support to
honest trade as well. The convic-
ton of the Standard Oil company oil
violating the Ohio Antitrust law is
similarly welcomed. The Cleveland
Leader refers to the operations of the
Oil Trust in that state as commercial
brigandage," and the Toledo Blade be
lieves that the trust" must either re-
form it's business methods or get out
of Ohio" The Blade adds:
Defeat means much to the Stand
ard If the state cOnvicts 1t, other
prosecutors, including one against the
head of the concern, will follow. The
testimony which Is being used in this
case will be availble in the others,
and while the Standard can only be
. punished by a fine, the conviction o.
its officials will be much more Sc
rious matter"
The legal department Of the Stand
ard, however, has given out the fol
lowing confident statement:
1.-The verdict in the case at Find
lay, Ohio, against the Standard Oil
company of Ohio carries with it sin
gle fine of from $50 to $4,000, which
is the maximum according to the law
under the information on which the
suit was brought. The defendant
lawyers in the case are taking i'm
mediate steps for appeal, which, be
fore final adjudication, may pass
through three courts, namely, Court
of Common Pleas, the Circuit Court,
and the Supreme Court of Ohio. They
feel confident of securing a reversal
on manifold errors in the trial just
concluded"
The main features of the Standard
Oil case are outlined thus by the New
York World
I'm 1892 the Attorney-General OF
Ohio secured decision that virtually
put an end to the old trust form OF
business consolidation, and the Stan
dard Oil Trust was forced to dissolve,
Its lawyers undertook to find some
other way" as the Northern Securi
ties people at first said they would do
after their merger was declared lille,
gal by the United States Supreme
Court. The 1882 Standard Oil Trust
certificates were recalled, and the
stock of several constituent compa-
MES substituted.
"The Valentine antitrust act was
passed by the Ohio legislature in
1898, but it was not until March that
the Ohio Supreme Court, after long
legal battle in lower courts, held the
law unconstitutional.
"At the Findlay trial of the Stand
ard Oil company of Ohio, Attorney
General Ellis proved that the Man.
haitian Oil company, which has desk
room in a London Office, completes
with none but the Independent Oil
company of Ohio; that the officers and
directors of the Buckeye Pipe Line
company, the Ohio Oil company. the
Standard Oil company of Ohio, and
the Solar Refining company are Of
\ 4. e