The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-08-06
STANDARDS VIEW
OF THE BIG FINE
AN OFFICIAL TALKS CONCERN
ING JUDGE LANDIS DECISION.
Ask Only a Square Deal Mot
Responsible for tho Rate Issued
by the Chicago & Alton
Railroad.

TSdllTOdu.
New York, Aug. 3.-News of the
unprcccdtcl fine imposed upon tho
Standard Oil company by Judge Lam
dis III the United States court ut Chi
cago today was received in New York
with excited interest. The general
expectation for some days has been
that the decision would be unfavor-
able 1" the Standard Oil company. but
apparently no one looked for the i'm
position of the maximum penalty OF
the l,462 counts Of the indictments,
reaching the enormous fetal of $29,-
100000.
An official Of the Standard Oil COM
pany said that the amount Of the fines
evidenced the injustice against the
company.
"Thc amount of Judge Landis'
dines,' said the official today authori-
tatively for the company. els 50 times
the value Of the oil carried under the
Indictment. The total value of oil
was Mi10.000. or each ear Of oil vaIu-
ed at about $450 We have been tnel
$2o.o0o. An appeal will be taken in
the United States circuit court of ap-
pcalS, but whether il will be entered
at once or whether the full time al
lowed by law will be taken will he
determined by our counsel in Chica-
go.
President James \. Motl'att Of the
Standard Oil company of Indiana
made statement today in reference
to the Judgment by Judge Landis,
pronounced in Chicago. which, in
part. follows.
"The court having pronounced it's
Judgment III the ease Of the United
States vs.. Standard Oil company of
Indiana. there can now be no impro
pricty in statin" our position to the
American people,
= Facts in the Case.
IL facts in this ease are simple
nd easily understood. The Standard
Oil company Of Indiana was convict
ed of receiving what the government
claimed VISA a ronecsSion from the
Chicago & Alton " 'hc shipment Of
oil from its rct'incM Whiting, Ind,
I" East ST. Louis, MI. The contcn-
ion of the government was that the
lawful rate was lS cents per 100
pounds between these two points. The
defendants claim. first that the law
full rate was q cents aud secondly If
cents was not the lawful rate il was
the rate ISSUED tn the Standard Oil
company by the Alton a. the lawful
rate and the Standard was justified
IN bcIlcvin" from its own invcStiwa-
ll"n and from the information secur-
ct from the railroad company that 6
. cents was the lawful rate.
'Thr lS-rrnt rate was Il 'rlaSs' not
! 'r"mm"dlty rate, and the chairman
Of the thira"" and ST. Louis Traffic
ASSOCIATION. the association issuing
, i!!r lS-crnt class rate. under oath
testified that il WAS never applied and
WAS never intended to apply to oil.
! 'T''"%SandS Of tons Of freight
have been shipped from these points
ul''rr the sam" circumstances aS the
>I"ndard ; shipments and if the
! STANDARD is guilty in this ease, 50 is
practical v every other shipper in this
Great manufacturing territory. Is
there purpose in selecting the
Standard as the victim?
eth" American public not only be-
lI"vr> in fair play in the abstract. but
! with all the facts before il if has the
capacity to determine whether "A de-
PENDANT, rich or poor. has received
Il square deal
For all these reasons the STAN
hard on company asserts that it is
not even technically guilty and that
1t ought never to have been prosccut-
cd because Of the claimed failure of
railroad c"mpany-wllich has neitl-
cr been indicted nor prosccutcd-to
file It's tariff. and that the prosecution
of this defendant under the circum-
stances Of this case is a prostitution
Of ihc spirit and thc higher p,,rposo
Of the interstate commerce act -