The Forrest City times., 1906-11-23
The War on the Standard

States circuit court asking for disso lution of Standard Oil trust and per petual injunction restraining 10 con. stituent companies from working with or paying dividends to parent com. pany.
 New York.-Standard Oil shares dropped 15 points. making net loss of ibo points since Roosevelt's war on the trust began; total depreciation in stock since president opened crusade, $150 100000; this notwithstanding quarterly dividends of $10 per share
 Findlay, O.-Prosecuting attorney directed by Attorney General Ellis to keepsgrand jury in session; all Stand. ard oil officials may be indicted: of. hcials of Standard oil company of Ohio indicted agreed to surrender.
 St. Louis, Mo.-The suit to break up the Standard Oil trust has been filed in the United States circuit court here. The petition asks:
 That the court decree that the com. bination and conspiracy are unlawful under the Sherman antitrust act.
 That the Standard Oil company be enjoincd, restrained and prohibited from exercising any control over It's allied corporations, or any of them, by the election or appointment of di- rectors or officers, or in any other manner.
 That the subsidiary corporations be enjoined from declaring or paying any dividends to the Standard Oil com pany of New Jersey.
 That the defendants, and each and all of them, be enjoined from entering into any contract, the purpose or ef feet of which is to restrain commerce In petroleum and it's products or to monopolize the same
 The petition contains 194 pages of printed matter or about 100000 words, and an aditional S4 pages of exhibits. consisting of bylaws and minutes of Standard Oil meetings and organizations, and map showing the retail prices of oil in every state and territory of the union.
 What the Petition Alleges.
 It is alleged in the petition that John D. Rockefeller and his associ ates. the other individual defendants formed conspiracy to monopolize the commerce in petroleum and it's products at an early date-about the year 1870-and that the same individ uals have controlled the combination during all these years, in all it's forms and now control it. It was, therefore deemed wise to state in the petition the complete history and growth oi this conspiracy.
 History of the Conspiracy.
 The petition is logically divided into three periods. During the first one of these periods, from 1870 to 1882 the combination assumed the form oi . simple conspiracy-that is to say the defendants. with the Standard Oi company of Ohio. acted together tc suppress competition and control tho oil business.
 During the second period. from 1SS: to 1899, the combination assumed tho form of trust agreement, whereby about 40 separate corporations en gagged In the same business, turned over the management of their busi ness to nine trustees, of which these individual defendants were the major ity. so that these defendants con trolled all of these corporations. In March. 1892. the supreme cour of Ohio declared this trust agreemen void and ordered its dissolution. Thereupon, on March 21, 1892. th' trust certificate holders met in Nev ork and resolved to dissolve the trus and appointed John D. Rockefeller Henry M Flagler. William Rockefel Ter, John D. Archbold, Benjamin Brewster, Henry H. Rogers, Wesle. H. Tilford and O. B. Jennings a liquidating trustees-the individua defendants being a majority of thes trustees.
 The manner of liquidation was no to sell the property and divide tn proceeds among the certificate hold cIo, HUT to icIui eo CaSh POioOh III dividualiy the property placed in tn trust, but all of the stocks in eacl of the companies were divided int portions in proportion to the numbe of trust certificate shares outstanding so that Rockefeller and his associate continued to control all these corpoI ations as before.
 Birth of the Present Trust.
 The petition then takes up the thir' period of the conspiracy, beginln. with the formation of the presen trust
 In order to accomplish this, in Jan tonn 4ho,r innroacad tho afonl