The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-08-28
FINE OF s29,240,0oO FOR
STANDARD OIL TRUST
Judge Lands Imposes Maximum
of $4,000 in Each Case.
MONEY GOES TO U. S. TREASURY
Standard Oil Will Appeal-Special
Grand Jury Ordered Empaneled
to Consider Case Of Alton Rail-
road, Other Party to Relating.

road, Other Party to Relating.
Chicago, Ill.-Far the greatest fine
in the history of criminal jurispru-
dence was imposed upon the Stand
ard Oil Company of Indiana when
Judge Kenesaw M. Lands assessed
the limit sum of S29,240,000 upon
the corporation convicted of receiv-
ing rebates from the Chicago and AL
ton Railway. In a decision which
goes exhaustively into the case and
bristles with terse answers to the
arguments brought up by the attoT-
neys for the branch of the trust
founded by John D. Rockefeller, the
Court clearly sets forth his reasons
for the fine and, according to law
yers we'll posted, has given the most
lucid Interpretation of the Interstate
Commerce act during the twenty
years of it's existence.
This punishment was the maxi
nun possible under the statutes, the
corporation having been found guilty
by a Federal Grand Jury last August
upon 1852 counts, the fine upon each
of which might range from $1,000 to
100000.
After denouncing the methods Of
the Oil Trust and commenting upon
the Studied insolence" Of its attor-
ney to the court of which he hap
pened to be the representative, the
Court declared "the men who DELHI
crate violate this law wound society
more deeply than does he who coun-
t~erfeits the coin or steals letters from
the mail"
Then, with a warning that "the
law must not be ignored in the juris-
diction of this court" Judge Lands
ordered that a special Grand Jury be
convened or August IA to consider
the evidence brought out in, the
Standard Oil trial discriminating the
Chicago and Alton Railway as the
giver of the rebates which the Oil
Trust accepted.
This second probe is pregnant with
Importance to the corporations OF the
country. BY instituting this move
Judge Lands has shown that he in
tends to do all he can toward. bring
ing about justice in all ways possible,
and it is entirely possible that If this
second investigation and action is
successful the men found guilty un-
der the Elkins law can be sent to the
~penitentiary. A hint Of this was CIV
en- by Judge Lands. in his decision
when he said:
For this offence the Elkins law
authorizes punishment only by fine,
an obvious defect, remedied, however,
by the present law prescribing i'm
prisonment in the ~penitentiary for the
like offence"
Under the even indictments still
pending against the Standard Oil
Company an additional fine amount
ing to ~$8S,440,000 may be levied
against the company if it is found
guilty on trial. There are in these
seven indictments a total of 4422
counts, and the maximum fine in each
count would be 100000.
Judge Lands decision was a most
severe arraignment of trust methods
in general and those of the Stand
ard Oil in particular. One by one he
took up the contentious of the coun-
sell for the oil corporation, discussed
them in detail and then cast aside the
5hreds with caustic comments.
AS to the claim of counsel for the
Standard Oil Company that that cor
poratiCn had a perfect right under
the Constitution of the United States
to make a secret agreement with the
Chicago and Alton for a rate of six
$500 -LN.N.. fhA rnnY,1or rnfn and
the rate charged ordinary shippers
was eighteen cents, Judge. Lands
thrust hard at Attorney John s. Mil
Ter when he said:
"Candor obliges to Court to say
that he knows nothing to support it
but the eminence of the counsel who
asserted it. A more abhorrent her
esq could not we'll be'conceived. One
might as well assert the right to
make a secret agreement with the
collector of customs or a tax assessor
for : low rate of customs duty or a
much reduced assessment lon prop
erty." =.
Throughout his decision the jurist
made plain his position that the rail-
road, as a common carrier, a no
right TO enter into an agreement to
give lower rates to n shipper than
another, and the defendant corpora
ton had no right to receive such con-
cession; otherwise the whole fabric OF
right and justice must fail.
The defense Of the corporation that
no harm would come to competitors
because of its enjoyment of. a low
rate because there were no such
competitors was met by the jurist
with the statement that if a legally
organized and honest company should
attempt to start in business it would
have Ito adopt the practice OF this de-
PENDANT and procure the great public
power of railway companies to be Sc
cretly perverted in its interest. I'm
der no other possible theory could it
hope to survive
1t required seventy minutes of
steady reading for the Judge to give
his decision. The courtroom was
packed almost to as great an extent
as on July 6, when John D. Rockefel-
Ter and the other officers of the cor
poration were present as witnesses.