The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-10-16

posing Attorneys Regarding Trial of
 J. D. Rockefeller.
 Findlay, O., Oct. 15.-The end of the trial of the Standard oil company of Ohio for alleged conspiracy against trade, came suddenly in sight at the conclusion of the court session to-day. The state was precluded by the ruling of Judge Banker from offering a line of evidence intended to show that the Standard gave secret rebates to retail dealers in oil. Mr. Phelps for the pros ecution admitted that the state had no means of showing that the Standard oil company authorized agens to offer or give rebates. The court said that it was a fundamental rule of evidence that the authority of the agent must be established.
 Then the state will close it's case In ten minutes tomorrow" remarked Att torney Phelps. A few witnesses for the defense will be called, but it is said that the testimony will be all in on both sides before the court ad- journs tomorrow; that the argument of counsel to the jury can be com pleted Wednesday, perhaps in time for Judge Baker to make his charge to the jury.
 An agreement was reached between prosecutor David and the attorneys for the Standard oil company to-day whereby the case against John D. Rockefeller kill not be set for trial un- q ba Ea ally disposed of, whether this is in the probate court, conducting the present trial, or before the supreme coure of the state after all appeals have been taken. Until to-days agreement the Rockefeller case had simply been post poned until after the trial of the com pany.
 John O'Brien, superintendent of the Buckeye Pipe Line company, and E. R. Curtain, superintendent of the Manhat- tan Oil company, both took the i'm munity bath before testifying in the case to-day. With the exception of the last witness, the evidence put in by the state was from officers of the al- legged constituent companies of the Standard, including the Buckeye pipe line, the Manhattan oil company, the Ohio Oil company and the Solar Refin- ing company. It was testified to by of ticers of the Buckeye Pipe line and Ohio oil company that the Standard Oil company of New Jersey owned practically all the stock of these con- panies.
 The last witness, Willis B. Ulsh, a To- cal grocer, was proceeding to tell the jury that when he first went into bus mess several years ago he purchased oil from the National Refining com pany, a local independent concern but that two or thre years ago he was vis- tied by an agent of the Standard, since which time he had bought oil of that company. He had no means of know ing that the supposed agent of the Standard was such agent, and while Attorney Phelps stated that he wished to show that this agent had offered and paid secret rebate to the witness since his visit and that the witness had bought all his oil of the Standard since that time, he said the state could not prove that the Standard had given the agent authoriy to offer the rebate, and the evidence was thereby cut short.
 It was understood to have been the intention of the prosecution to place before the jury, considerable testimony of the same nature. When Judge Bank. CT excluded it the prosecution an- nounced that W. L. Finley, state in. spector of refined oils, would be theil only other witness.