The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1907-08-06

FEDERAL Jurist Denounces Officers Of
Trust As No Better Than Counter.
feiters and Robbers and Regrets He
Cannot Send Them to Jail.
Chicago. Aug Expressing IL as
his only regret that the law did not
permit him 10 innict prison penalty.
United States District judge Kcnc
saw Mountain iandis rendered judg
ment against the Standard on com
p2ny Of Indiana for the crime o. rcbar.
Ing. and imposed dnc OF S2924o.ooo.
PronOuncing this tremendous ju5c
nenL far and away the greatest fine
that has been imposed in all the his
tory OF Jurisprudence. the court read
decision that is in Keeping with the
monumental character OF The punish.
ment Il was a deliyerance OF greats
length and OF almost sensational quail
titles. H. after passing through the
tortuous channels OF the appellate
courts the decision handed down sur.
wives. it expected that it Will become
and remain a landmark in iurispri.
dence and foundation upon which
Interstate commerce litigation shall
rest FOR generations 10 come
The judge holds that the man.
whether In his private interest or as
the officer OF a corporation. who ob.
tains and uses a preferential rate in
public traffic is equally criminal with
and no better than a counterSiter and
a thief
The argument OF the right oi pr.-
waite contract set up 10y the STANDARD
oil attorneys is shattered by the dec
laration that a railroad and a shipper
have no more right 10 agree upon n
secret rate than property owner and
a tax assessor TO agree upon a secret
tax rate
The Standard Ons trick OF making
shipments as intra-state from state
boundary 70 state boundary. and
shifting over state lines 10y short
hauls under Interstate regulation is
denounced by the judge as a worth
less evasion. and the principle as laid
down that a shipment whose ultimate
destination is in another state is an
interstate shipment from the moment
il begins TO move.
Answering the argument of the al
torneys for the Standard on company
that the imposition Of a fine upon each
OF the 1852 counts OF the indictment
would violate the constitutional pro
vision against excessive fines. Judge
lands declares that the STANDARD Oil
company OF New Jersey. with profits
exceeding $4,000. 900 a year. s. the
real defendant and when its great
Il q g. q.
excess Ave To impose a small fine be
says. would be but 20 encourage vio-
lation OF the law, for the company
woHld accept it as a license and not
as punishment He declared i'm
pressively that. great as IL was. this
fine was not as great a punishment as
would be the deprivation OF a human
bslns OF his liberty for a single day.
Judge lands Judgment was rem
derod upon an Indictment tried by
jury before him. and upon which
verdict OF guilty was returned on 1862
counts. each for carload shipment
Of oil from Whiting, Ind. 10 St Louis.
BY agreement with the Chicago q Al
ton railroad. which handled the ship
ments. the Standard oil company was
required TO pay but six cents per 100
pounds freight. whereas the publish
ed rate filed with the Interstate com
merce commission was Is cents per
100 pounds
The Elkins law provides a punish
ment OF not less than $1,000 and not
more than 10000 fine Tor each of the
1852 carloads of oil shipped under the
siX-cent rate. the aggregate being S2e
2f0 600
Even with this terrific punishment
the law is not done with the STANDARD
Oil Judge Iandis earnestly declared
that he believes justice 10 be stin un-
satisfied. II is therefore possible that
he may direct the trial OF seven other
indictments that are pending against
the Standard. These indictments In
elude a total Of i422 counts for rebat-
Ing and the imposition of the maxi
mum fine Of $4,000 upon each count
would mean the appalling fine Of SS4.-
44O. 900.
The conviction Of the oil trust for
rebating carried with Sc the fact Of the
guilt Of the other party TO the rebating
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Chicago & Al
ton railroad. Therefore. in closing his
decision. Judge lands directed that a
special grand jury should be drawn on
August IA for the purpose of consider
ing an indictment against that rail
road. should the Indictment be re-
turned. a trial held and a verdict of
guilty found a fine could be assessed
against that road of the same amount
as that assessed against the oil trust