The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-21
EXPLAINS POSITION
STANDARD OIL COMPANY ISSUES
 PAMPHLET,
They Assure the Public That They Were Absolutely Innocent of Wrong-Doisg in Recent
 Proseeutions.

New York, Aug. 20.--The directors of the standard oil Company today is- sued a pamphlet to It's employees and stockholders relative to the fine of s2s,- 240,000 imposed on the Standard oil Company of Indiana. The pamphlet contains statement from President Moffatt of the Standard oil Company, of number of editorial articles favor able to the company, taken from vari- ous American newspapers. The espe- cially noteworthy feature of the pamphlet is it's introductory statement which is as follows;
 The directors of the Standard oil Company in printing this pamphlet, de- sire to emphasize for the half million people directly interested in its well fare. the assurance of the companys absolute innocence of wrong doing in any of the prosecutions lately insti- tuted against 1t in the Federal courts. Particularly is this so in the present Chicago and Alton Railroad case. made notorious by the sensational fine of s2s,24o,00 imposed on the Standard Oil Company of Indiana.
 Tt should be known as widely as possible that this is no case of rebate or discrimination but simply of the le- gality of freight rate. It should be known that the verdict was obtained by the government upon the most hair splitting technicality. aided by the rig orous exclusion of evidence that would have removed all presumption of guilt.
 If the judgment in question be al- lowed to stand, the company will be forced to pay $2O.0o0 (that is. fifty times the value of the oiD, for every carload carried over the Alton road du- ring two years at an open cent rate, rate used over three competing rail- roads for from ten to fourteen years. The trial judge refused to allow proof that the 6 cent rate had been filed by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois and was therefore a legal rate He rel fused to allow proof that linseed oil, for instance, was carried at cents and other bulk commodities as low as five cents. He insisted that IS cents was the only legal rate for oil when no one had ever paid 1t and when 1t was authoritatively sworn that 1t did not apply to oil, to the higher courts to which we must look for that calm Judgment which will rescue the rights of the citizen from the field of public clamor and from the domain of vindictive politics"
 So persistent and adroit has been the warfare waged with all the overpow- ering authority of the Federal admin istration against the Standard Oil Com pany that it has been manifested, diff ficult to get fair hearing before the public or in a large portion of the press the latter, to its great harm, swayed alike by socialistic outcry from below and political pressure from above.
 "As proof of the latter, 1t may be noted that in the Presidents message of May {, 1908. attack was made on the Standard oil Company for the pur- pose of forcing the passage of the bill remftting the duty on denatured alco- hol-a measure in which the company was not interested.
 On May IT, 1906, the issue of Com missioner Garfield's report on petro- leum transportation, a tissue of old misrepresentation, was timed to in- fuence the Hepburn rate bill. then before Congress. On May 20, 1907 while Judge IAndis had still under consideration the judgment in the Chi cago and Aliton case, Commissioner Smiths illogical and partisan report on pipe lines was made public.
 "The Commissioner second report on petroleum prices and profits, g wholly false deduction from ineom- plete facts, was sent in advance to the press for publication on August 5, in the knowledge that Judge Landis would pronounce judgment August 3. Here. surely, is evidence of combi- nation influencing all sources of pub lie opinion.
 What motive underlies the cam paign of defamation need not here be discussed, but for all, friends and foes it is reiterated that the Standard oil Company is carrying on a widespread business of great moment to the pros perity of the American people, in ab- solute obedience to the soundest prin- ciples of business and to the spirit and letter of the law"