Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-09-09
or NATIONAL

EN~Judge Ftffih, OF MlsN"uil' ar "
special examiner appointed by the fed
eral court Of -. Louis, In the suit OF
the United states government against
the standard oil company, began
hearings last Thursday in New York
which mark the opening Of litigation,
the final outcome OF which will be OF
extraordinary Importance ~ bearing
more or less directly upon all modern
methods Of business organization. con
Quoted upon a large scale. and an un-
derstandlng Of It's exact character at
the outset VIII be necessary to a cor
rect comprehension Of the Significance
OF the rulings and decisions that viii
mark the progress OF the case.
while the suit In which these hear
ings are had before Judge Ferris Is
only one Of a hair dozen or more
which have been Instituted by the at
torney general OF the United States In
different federal districts against the
same defendant and Is brought under
the sherman "anti-trust" law. so call
ed. for the dissolution OF the stand
ard on company Of New Jersey az an
unlawful combination "in restraint Of
/ trade" II should be borne In mind
that the company Ii not n trust,
technically speaking, and has not been
one for nearly nine years. The time
was when these interests We're COM
bined az the standard oil trust-a
typical trust organization formed In
1852 and succeeding what had been
known for years as the alliance.
/ Briefly. this organization Of 1852 COM
pretended an exchange Of the stocks
OF all the constituent concerns for the
stocks OF ~ Standard on companies
In the several states, and these lat
Ter stocks were then an turned over
To nine managing trustees. who. In
turn. delivered 20 the owners Of them
what were known as trust c%ertifi-
Gates" by the agreements entered into
these trustees were clothed with ex-
%traordinary powers; and Il can readily
be understood how such an organi-
cation could operate I'm restraint Of
TRADE" II was not seriously interfer-
ed with. however. until 1891, when the
state OF ohio instituted q suit against
the standard OF company Of ohio.
charging q with being 4 member ~
the standard oil trust In violation OF
law and praying that Il be Invested Of
It's corporate rights. The decision In
this case was against the company
and was uf great Importance because
lac N.l ultimately u.f F.r naaNNV
seven years. howeVcr-to the dissolu-
lion 81 the tr~ and TO the organiza-
ton IN 1893 % The present defendant
company under the laws OF New der
sey: Il was rendered by the supreme
court of ohio on March 2. 1893. and
based it, rule substantially on the fol-
lowing
"A corporation. apart from the per-
sons who compose u. is by the fiction
of the law 10 be regarded rs a legal
entity only Tor convenience Ia tho
transaction Of its business When all
or a majority 81 the stockholders Of "a
corporation do an act which affects
the property and business OF the COM
panN and which. through the control
their numbers give them over the
selection and conduct OF the corporate
agencies. does AAlHtl the HANlfAAA AANA
business OF the company Ia the same
manner as II Il had been a formal res
olutlon OF its board OF directors. and
the act 80 done g. ultra wires 81 10
corporation and against public policy.
the act should be regarded as the act
OF the corporation and. 10 prevent the
abuse 81 the corporate power. mas %
challenged by the state. The trusl
agreements in question are acts which
must he regarded as the acts 81 the
corporations and az such. ultra wires
and tending as they do. 20 the crea-
ton OF n monopoly, 10 the control of
prices a. we'll as Of production. these
acts are also against public policy and
accordingly contrary 90 law
The ohio company was accordingly
ordered 10 withdraw from the trust
on penalty ~ forfeiung is chartered
rights. it did withdraw nominaiiy. but
uas subsequently, charged BY the
courts with contempt IN violating the
order by not Withdrawing in good
faith~-and the resultant litigation
was complicated and ran through sew
cral gears
The reorganization 20 1855 was q
practical consolidation into ~ cor