The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-02-06
STANDARD OIL FACES
939 OHIO INDICTMENTS
Rockefeller; Rogers and Others
Made Defendants.
WHOLESALE TRUST SMASHING

May Have to Pay $60,Ooo,oOo Fine
PresentInents by Grand Jury Of
Hancock County, and Trials Will
. Take Months. -.
Fiudlay, Ohio.-The sensational
cases against the? Standard Oil Gem
pany, its subsidiary concerns and all
the prominent men interested,
reached a climax when the Hancock
County Grand Jury returned almost
one thousand indictments against the
Oil Trust and the Rockefellers and
their associates.
In the report there are 939 sep
arate indictments against the Stand
ard Oil Company Of New Jersey, the
Standard Oil Company of Ohio, the
Ohio Oil Company, the Buckeye Pipe
Line Company, the Solar Refinery
Company, the Manhattan Oil Com
pany. John D. Rockefeller, H. H.
Rogers, Wesley Tilford, John D.
Archbold. Frank @. Barstow, William
Rockefeller and F. T. Cuthbert. They
are formally charged with being
members Of a trust for conspiracy
against trade. u,
There aret525 words in each in
dictment, or a total of 452.975 words.
Each case will be docketed separately
and the County Clerk and Sheriff's
offices will be swamped with work for
months to come.
Sheriff Groves and his deputies
will begin at onceSto serve a copy Of
the indictments on each Of the de-
PENDANTS.
Prosecutor David said that he pur-
posely held off action until the salary
law with county officials became eff
f~ective, 10 he did not wish to. up
a big cost bill, which would have re-
suited under the old fee system.
II Hancock County wins in each
case when they are tried. fines can
be assessed aggregating $58, 100000.
When the report Of the Grand Jury
was filed Prosecutor David on his
own motion nolled the indictments
returned last September against John
D. Rockefeller, Ne. G. Villas, J. M.
Robertson and H. P. Mcintosh, the
last three named being officials Of the
Standard Oil Company Of Ohio.
The indictments charge the Stand
ard OIL Company and its subsidiary
companies with being members of a
trust and combination Of capital and
skill, and which acts for the following
purposes:
"To establish restrictions in trade
and commerce.; to limit and reduce
the production Of petroleum and its
products; to prevent competition in
the production, sale and manufacture,
transporting and reiningo Of petroleum
and its products between themselves
and others, to fix at a common stand
ard figure the price OF petroleum and
it's products to the public and the
consumers"
The indictments are based on the
Valentine Antitrust Act of Ohio and
the suits will be pushed. a
John D. Rockefeller has already
given his word to come to Findlay
when wanted for trial.
Nearly every member Of the Grand
Jury was a wealthy man, either a
farmer, or a merchant, and it Is said
that there was no hesitancy on the
part of any member in voting for the
indictments. The case was brought
before the jury on January 8, and
was under consideration for two days.
Much more is involved in these cases
than in any of the preceding tces,
and new defendants are brought into
the case, including the Standard Oil
Company of New Jersey and the New
York officials.