The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1907-08-27

form is over. It must either conform |
now to Justice and fair dealing or II
will fall utterly. l don't mean that its
day is over this year oh will be over
next year. but it is as surely ended as
right is right"
Miss Ida NJ Tarbell in an interview !
last night thus expressed her satisfac !
ton at the assessment Of the 20,000, |
600 fine on the oil trust by Judge Lam
dis. Miss Tarbell is Regarded as the
greatest authority on the workings of
the oil trust Her History of the
Standard Oil Company" first brought
home to the general public a realiza-
ton of the trusts far-reaching opera
lions and their true significance.
Credit for the tremendous fine as a
elimination of her labors is not, how
ever, taken by Miss Tarbell She re-
CARDS it rather as the Gilman of war
fare extending over thirty-fve years.
after thirty-fve years of such. prac-
tees as the Standard Oil Company has
been found guilty Of" said Miss Tar
bell, "it is entirely just that, after con-
viction, the maximum punishment
should be imposed. l am only sorry
that the punishment cannot be some
thing more than a fine.
what have done has been for the
sake of the public 1t is not that l
have been vindictive, as many people
seem to believe. On the contrary, l
have a tremendous admiration for the
Standard Oil Company and for many of
, the men in it, In one way they have
done a great public service, but they
( have wiped out any possibility of graft
tude from the public for these services
] by their illegal methods of operation
in connection with their good work.
4 IF the offenses of which they have
] just been found guilty were they first
= we might say that the fine was eXces-
sive and be doubtful about the wisdom
of imposing it. But it is only the last
offense we know of in thirty-five years
- 1t was just thirty-five years ago tina
the United States government had t.
investigate the Standard Oil Compan!
for it's illegal contracts with railroads
The state of Pennsylvania arose il
what was almost revolution agains
the Standards practices. Pennsylva
mia, Ohio and New York in the seven
ties passed laws to try to stop tn,
trusts drawbacks and rebates which
it was receiving.
ut was very largely the rebating o
the Standard Oil Company that led t,
the passage of the interstate com
merce act in 1887. In Ohio the Stan
dard violated the laws until the stat
ordered it to be disbanded
Il do not believe that there is
single year in the whole thirty-five il
which some state or the United State
has not had some suit on against tn
trust, and in the last fifteen years
! dozen states have been trying TO pas
- laws to force it to decency and fair
ness.
THE difficulty with the men in tn
Standard Oil Company seems to b
that they have no sense that the publ
has any part in the conduct of corpora
90 tnons. They utterly lack the collectiv
90 sense. 1t is individualism gone mad
Nv reduced to an absurdity.
ut is rather interesting to motto
that they put out now the same Sol
of aggrieved message to the public the
; they always have given out when the
q. always have given out when they en-
in, ploy, to tire large amount of none
In. which they bring into the countr
a. and to the immense sums spent in va
:, ruious charitable and educational III
y. dertakings,f with the inference thS
a it is Impossible for snsh good men
be guilty of such onenses as thos
with which they are charged.
at seems never to occur to them thu
s. this is something the public can Sc
through and that nobody would syn
pathize with them when they complain
wv even if they were not kuilty.
d. They have had every chance
& readjust their business and conduct
ed as gentlemen should, and all they hay
5i- ever done, after a public explosion,
to readjust it so they could carry c
their same old prctices in a new wa
1T is not merely taking illegal rat
-themisdemeanor of which they wei
convicted in Chicago-that the publ
has against them. Their methods
competition are perfectly well know
in all parts of the country. There a
lu. hundreds of towns in which their cit
- zens have seen these methods in ope
3 alton. They have a spy system whic
they apply to shipments of indepen
20 ents which would do credit to the 70
3 Der barons OF the middle ages.
& "They have no pride in the quail
~ of their product, but always give
3 poor a grade as they can work off {
& the public. The oil sold in the sout