Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-09-01
STANDARD OIL IS
SAYING ENOUGH
PLEADS THAT ITS BUSINESS Is
HURT BY THE HAMMERlNG
OF JURIEs
President Roosevelt and the Newspa-
pers Are Made to Share Part of the
Blame for the Reputation of Com
pany in Other Countries.

New York, Aug. 30.-The recent
sledgehammer attacks on the Standard
Oil trust. instituted by the government
and continued by succession of feder-
al grand juries, have struck vital
spot.
The corporation whose growth no.
toriously for many years has been &C
complished by relentless throttling OF
competition, now appeals for quarter
because competition from an unexpect-
ed source seriously threatens it's reve-
nues.
In a statement, sent out as paid ad-
vertisement to all the big papers Of the
country, last night the company made
q remarkable plea for a cessation OF
what it describes as the hostile atti-
tude of the American press" pointing
out plaintively "the depressing effect
of the same upon it's foreign trade"
Export Chief Sounds Warning.
"a warning note" sounded by the
head of the trusts export department
in his report to the directors is respon-
sible for the complete change in the at
titude of the corporation toward it's
critics. The head of the export depart
Germ and alarm the damage and men
ace to our foreign attacks by an in
f1uential section Of the American
press"
AS an evidence of the hardships now
confronting the company it is pointed
out that foreign government recently
refused it permission to erect big
| storage plant Blame for this, howev-
er, is laid with President Roosevelt,
the foreign governments action being
coincident with his message to con-
gress regarding the Standard Oil COM
pany.
Cries Out Against Competition.
The trusts appeal for clemency
reaches a height of pathos in lamen-
| tation of the fact that it is suffering
keenly from competition in Europe.
| Notwithstanding our ramified and
comprehensive channels of distribution
in nearly every country in the world, y
the company says, which are the out
come Of many years of hard work and
of great expenditure, we find the COM
petitive obstacles greater from year
to year because Of the rapidly develop
ing petroleum industries Of other coun.
tries.'
The great American oil industry is
thus endangered, the company claims
1t points out that it is the company and
not it's product that is under criticism
in this country, but that abroad every
attack on the company is translated by
rivals into an attack upon it's oil
The appeal remarks that the largely
increasing stock Of petroleum in this
country emphasizes the necessity OF
extending rather than curtailing its
output.
If You Won't Cult, Go Easy.
1 But, says the richest and most pow
erful trust in the world if the attacks
and critisicms are to be continued lei
them be tempered to the lamb that is
being shorn. Or, as the appeal puts
it, let them be formulated on lines not
calculated to give aid and comfort tt
every foreign enemy and competitor
/ The hostile attitude of the Ameri
can press" complained of by the trust
consists chiefly in the habit the press
has of printing the reports of success
sive federal grand juries which have
indicated the trust so often now thai
the story has become tiresome.
i Size of Fines Nightmare2
The trust has been indicted for il
legal practices in Ohio. New York
Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. The in
dividual counts in the various indict
ments total tens of thousands.
In the last week two federal grant
juries In Chicago returned ten indict
ments against the corporation, enumer
ating GAPS counts. In these alone tn,
, fines involved reach the enormous to
tai of $128,560,O00. The possibility tina
the fines may have to be paid soone
or later Eliminates the trusts desir,
to escape dangerous competition il
; Europe.
HeartrendInu