The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-09-24
Testimony Shows How Pipe Line Company Was
 Controlled
STANDARD O|L SECURES
 ALL COMPANYS OUTPUT
Stockholders Minutes Twenty-four Years Old Show Action of That Date Was Afterwards
 Populated.

New York, September 23-The ways and means by which the Tidewater Pipe Line company of Pennsylvania came under vir- tual control of the Standard Oil company were unfolded today in the hearing of the governments suit against the oil com- bine. The affairs of the Underwater com pany were disclosed by the testimony of Robert Benson, president of the company, and from a mass of records and contracts. The Standard was shown to own at pres ent 31 per cent of the Tidewater stock and by an agreement entered into in 1883 be- tween the two companies, the oil business was divided in such proportions that the Tidewater did 111a per cent and the Stand ard sS1s per cent. President Benson testi- flied that since the agreement in 1883, the business of neither the Tidewater Pipe Line company nor the present company, the Tidewater Oil company, had mate rially increased
 An interesting incident of the days hearing was the unseang of the minutes of a stockholders meeting held in Titus vile, Pa, on January IT, 1883, the action of which in electing officers was repu- diated at a meeting the next day in Phila- delphia by the managers of the Tidewater. who directed that the existing officers re- main in control and that suit be brought in court to set aside the action of the Titusville meeting.
 Meeting Unauthorized.
 Counsel for the government obtained evidence from MT. Benson and the records
 
 held the Titusville meeting without issu- ing call to the stockholders as provided for by the company's bylaws. The liti- gation in the Pennsylvania courts that followed the Titusville meeting resulted in decision against these officers.
 MT. Benson was asked to examine the record and see if any stock now held by the Standard oil interests had been voted at that meeting. Mir Benson said that 1864 shares of stock voted at that meeting came into possession of gentlemen whom they considered to represent Standard Oil interests and that this stock in 1900 was transferred by William G. Rockefeller to H. C. Folger, who still owned it.
 Mr. Benson gave testimony to show, un- der existing contract with the Standard of 95 per cent of oil refined by the Tide water company. n per cent was sold to the Standard and the remaining 23 per cent was sold in territory in which the Standard was not interested. The pres- dent of the Tidewater company, when asked what disposition was made of the remaining per cent refined for domestic purposes said that the Standard secured 97 per cent of it.
 Tilford on Stand.
 
 ard oil company, gave further testimony today in the governments action against the company MT. Tilford testified after looking over the records on Saturday that the Manhattan Oil company of Ohio had sold to the Standard company 754 tank cars between 1899 and 1901. The purchase was made for the Standard company by subsidiary company, the Union Tank Line Mir Tiford could not say if the Standard made any contract to supply certain gas companies with oil when it took over the Manhattan Oil company. 'As d matter of fact, don't you know that the Standard made a contract with the Indianapolis Gas company and the Peoples Gaslight and Coke company of Chicago?'
 ''Yes, such contract was made in 1S99," said Mr. Tiford.
 And was not that contract made be- cause E. C. Bennett and Anthony B. Ready would not sell the Manhattan com pany unless gas companies were guaran- teed supply of oil for ten years?"
 sI don't know that the contract was made for that reason" answered MT. IIl- ford "I don't know that the contract was made for two years.
 New Line of Inquiry.
 Mir. Kellogg then took up a new line of inquiry and asked Mir Tilford if it was not a fact that the only stock of the twenty subsidiary companies distributed between 1892 and 1899 was E4,6l9 out of s72 500 shares, which were distributed to certain stockholders, including John D. Rockefeller William Rockefeller. Henry M Flagler, H. H. Rogers and fourteen other stockholders. MT. Tilford said he did not know. MT. Kellogg said he pre- posed showing that in order to avoid the injunction of the court preventing the voting of trustees certificates for ma jority of the stock of the subsidiary com- panes, and that they as individual stock holders still maintain control of the com pany. Mir. Tilford did not illuminate the issue which MT. Kellogg desired to make clear mad AIr. Milburn interposed that the records were sufficient evidence. The witness was unable to say whether these 4746l9 trustee certificates were tn onIy certificates liquidated after 1892.
 MT. Miburn took up the cross -examina- ton of MT. Tilford, who testified that the Standard oil company had about 5oOo stockholders.