The Washington herald., 1907-09-20

+ohNhANhA interrupts nearing
New York. Sept 19-The trustees IN
liquidation for the STANDARD Oil trust, Of
Ohio. continued their organization with
out change during the period intervening
between the enforced dissolution OF that
corporation in 1892 and its reorganization
in 1893 under the title Of the Standard Oil
Company Of New Jersey. They carried
over the same number Of stock certia-
Gates from the old company for distribu-
ton in the new organization. and for part
Of the seven years Intervening they con-
tinued TO vote stocks in the companies
controlled by the interdicte1 trust. ac-
cording TO the testimony given to-day By
Wesley II. Tilford. treasurer OF the Stand
ard oil Company Of New Jersey, before
Referee Ferris, who represents the St.
Louis Federal Court in the taking Of tes-
timony for use in the pending suit 10 dis
solve the Standard Oil Company.
According 10 Frank B. kellogg. special
prosecutor for the. government in the St
Louis case. the testimony which Tilford
gave proved for the first time what the
government in previous cases has failed
to bring out: That the Standard Oil
trust, Of Ohio. and the Standard Oil
Company Of New Jersey had a coter-
minaI existence, and. IN contempt of the
judgment Of dissolution passed by the
Ohio court in 1892. the oil company con-
tinued TO exist without change. and was
merged. without losing It's identity, with
the corporation established under the New
Jersey law in 1s9 This, he said to-day.
was one Of the most important pieces OF
evidence that the government could ind
/ in the present suit.
To Follow Up Admission.
Mr.. Tnford's testimony to-day was the
/ first light let into "a subject whic
! logg is going to pursue for sever
under peculiar advantages. Glare
Fay. assistant comptroller Of the St
Company. has found. according
! promise given Tuesday. a set Of
covering the period OF the liQuidEi
the activities Of the trustees. Kello
several assistants going over the
and will De prepared 10 ask gu
from d5! TO day.
When Tilford took the stand this
ing he said that al the time Of the
dati0n De was a trustee. under the Uus,
/ agreement. a stockholder in the main
trust and in several subsidiaries, and
leading trustee and later treasurer Of the
New Jersey reorg luIzed company. One
Of the first questions asked him was X
the trustees in liquidation continued the
same organization under the same officer
ships that the trustees under thf trust
agreement had. Tilf0rd said that such
was the case.
When the prosecutor asked il the trus-
tees continued 10 heId stocks and TO exer-
else the same control over companies in
which the STANDARD trust had enjoyed
a controlling interest. the witness said
that the liquidation trustees had con-
tinued 10 vote the stocks in the COM
panies they controlled on the basis OF
their personal holdings in those COM
panies. Eeilogg insisted upon knowing If
the trustees had voted stocks of the Ohio
company that had remained unliquidated
after dissolution, but Tilf0rd could not
recall an instance Of that having been
done.
That Fatal FOrgetfuineSs!
Have you any data of the stock liqui-
dated each year duripg> the regime of tho
liquidatiug trustees?' asked Kellogg.
No; that was so long back I can't re-
member" said Tilford. There may have
been accounts kept, but don't know
where they are now"
Mr. TilfeFd was asked If the trustees OF
the Ohio company had not turned over TO
the Standard oil Company Of New Jer-
sey then a subsidiary. part Of the stocks
Of twenty subcompanies held by the
Standard He looked al the records, and
admitted that. as attorney for the liqui-
dating trustees. he had turned over an
assignment Of such stocks. but it was
after the dissolution of the trust.
Here Prosecutor Kellogg drew attention
to the holdings Of John D. Rockefeller
in the old trust and his interests as they
were transferred 20 the New Jersey cor
poration.
| Did not John-D-R Rockefeller hold 256,-
/ S54 shares out Of total Of 972,5CO in the
Standard Oil trust, of Ohio?" asked KeI-
/ Iogg.
He did; and I issued certificates to
him for that number" replied tie wit
ness
Gets That Fraction Fixed.
And when the Standard Oil Company
! of New Jersey was formed you issued
shares IN that company in exchange on
the fractional proportion Of 256s54-g72C0?'
| TIford said that this was SO.
And that gave him that identical pro
I rata OF ownership in all the twenty SUBJ
sidiary corporations, did Il nOt2"
/ Again Tilford nodded assent.
/ And those shares were interchange
able for stock in these subsidiaries"
/ The Standard Oil treasurer said they
were.
/ The governments questiOner wanted to
/ know If it were not fact that between
/ the years 1892 and 1899 none of the trus-
! tees sold his stock. bit that it all went
/ into the New Jersey corporation at the
/ latter date Tilford didn't know. He was
asked 10 look up the records and report