Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-08-09
FEDERAL JUDGE IMPOSES HIGHEST
POSSIBLE PENALTY ON THE
ROCKEFELLER CONCERN.
WILL PROSECUTE FURTHER
Court Orders Calling of Grand Jury and
This Time Relating Railroads
May Be Caught.
SUMMARY OF GREAT OPINION.


court upon the Standard OIL company
of Indiana. The amount was $20 ,24O,-
600, the maximum sentence upon each
of the 1862 counts of the indictments on
which that company was recently con
victed of accepting rebates from the
Chicago & Alton and other railroads.
The Judge also recommended that call
be issued by Il special grand jury which
is to consider the other party to the
Relating operations Of which the Stand
ard Oil company was found guilty and
it is therefore probable that within
short time proceedings will he com
meuced against the Chicago & Alton
Railway company for the alleged com
mission Of similar OfTeuSgS.
Courtroom Is damned.
The reading Of The opinion by Judge
Lands aroused almost as much interest
as the presence Of John ID. Rockefeller
and other officials Of the Standard Oil
company upon the witness stand. The
courtroom was crowded to its utmost
capacity and the Omitted States deputy
marshals were finally compelled to refuse
admission to all late corners.
The government was represented in
the courtroom by United Stiles DisiricT
Attorney WILKINSON. The ONLY attorneys
OF the Standard Oh company present il
the courtroom were Attorneys Eddy
and Martin, neither of whom bore n
prominent part III the actual trial OF the
case: Attorney MHlGf, the leading cOun-
sci Tor the standard on company, was
III Europe aud MS cHieL a%siStaht, MorltZ
koSehthal was III NeW Aork. only a
lew OF the lesser olhclaIS OF the Stand
ara VI company were III me courtroom.
Judge LaIGIs commenced conn slli reading MS
ueciSIoll a. ~ ciGcl amy toIiSIilieu ap-
pfoAIH4teIS one nouL peioie hs All
Ho"HIcu '"e I'0i"''''
Summary Of Decision.
IrIrn I.audi, in his decision said. if
,,,1s nrovnn IN thn tri,I tbe dnfendan+
= CONFEDERATION ~ Indi,ns o,,e,.,toe al
,ofnnry ot VI,.tinl md thst ~ 80 ~ ~
ra@o & Alton Halfway comnany = cor
poration of Illinois, operates a line of
Runway T2 ron lineage 70 l1ast -. houlsi
M, ,u li1iieI
1l'ti2!eL 49,! OPDl"l'' q ," lLCli!HS
road from hltihS across the state line
INTO LIMOS nIetSeGLIlS the Anton road
at SIatioh caheu CHappeil' snort
distance from chicago ana thaJ there
are Ilree COMPANIES operating tefmlhl
foadS from East 81 LOUIS, III, across
the MISSISSIPPI river 10 81 LOUIS, Mo.
CHARGES of Relating
~: l., -. -..,.,,,,.,,,,,.
1oI ~ ~ LaLd i pon iliCll 'lLe
bAItoT nn,nnonT hid fiIod I'll liz ~
4tn oyllt3orco nnn,r,;ior, ~ 81
go e., tbn +r,,,s,,,rrt.+;o,, - ~ - nc
r va W.! O. oIi III car
i &c onn+ nov I,,,Ii,I 49, - 1-oui9 "
ra+ fo. lilo tr,nencIt+io,, 70, CIV TuL
naiI to ST Touis f. he 1oiL na,,+c 'i ~.
bnndr0d nornds M oc-Ir+- -. - -.
1 - 49, 80 '"S - ~
sbinncd i+e @onds from W-hitnc- 10 49,
st. Louis for cents and H. cents to
st. Louis. The dealings of the Standard
Oil company were exclusively with the
Chicago < Alton. which rendered all
bills for the through service The de-
Tense argued that the Elkins law au-
thoriZed the prosecution for but one of
Tense, and maintained that there could
be 4 conviction on only one count.
FooL oceo-.. T;.,l,
"'h 0H0A9e uAiS4ao Le'
The court held that the law is violated
every time any property is so transport
ed, rs the legal rate was established by
the railway company on car lot basis.
The unlawful O-cent rate was granted
ana accepted on that basis. AS to the
defendants claim that the representa-
tions by the Alton rate had misled it
mo the sincere DeIlet that the Alton
Scent rate had been filed with the in
terstate commerce commission. the court
held that as the law required the car
rler to keep the schedule at its freight
office for public inspection. it was the
defendants duty to ascertain at the
railroads office whether the rate was so
termnS s'n wbatb ori4s ior rre JpTy 10 de
trntL of +bo IT. ~ oe
in@ found rordi"t ' ~ c,,,;i+ J"l Ia,
tbe 5n+T of H. co ~ T. - oecane
ishmept INC '0''' u IN Tue pun
ni.,,,. 7>-.,. n-...
DiS0usseS ilusts Protest.
The court then discussed the evidence
offered by tue defendant to the effect
that during the period covered by the
indictment. the Chicago Il Eastern Hi
nois railroad published an open rate of
81 cents from Whiting TO East St.
Louis. The court held that this fact
should be considered in mitigation. if
true, although inadmissible before the
jury as to guilt or innocence and the
court after the verdict had been given