The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-08-09
FINE IMPOSED
IS $29,24O,OOO
Standard Oil Company Given Ire
mendoas Whack by Judge Lands.
Decision is Rendered in Notorious Relating
Observation-Disclosures Corporation De-
clared Worse Than Counterfeiters.


Observation-Disclosures Corporation De-
cIared Worse Than COunterfsiters.
Judge Kennesaw M. Lands, in the
United States district court at Chi
cago fined the Standard Oil company
of Indiana $29,24O,OOO for violations of
the law against accepting rebates
from railroads. The fine is the larg.
est ever assessed against any individ.
uals or any corporation in the history
OF American criminal jurisprudence,
and is slightly more than 131 times
as great ase~the amount received by
the company through its rebating Cd,
erations. The case will be carried to
the higher courts by the defendant
company.
The penalty imposed upon the com.
pany is the maximum permitted I'M
der the law, and it was announced at
the end of long opinion in which
the methods aR%practices Of the Stan
dard Oil company were mercilessly
scored. The judge, in fact, declared,
in his opinion, that the officials of the
Standard Oil company who were re-
sponsible for the practices of which
the corporation was found guilty, were
no better than counterfeiters and
thives, his exact language being;
1--WE may as we'll look at this sit.
uation squarely. The men who thus
deliberately violate this law, wound
society more deeply than does he who
counterfeits the coin or steals letters
from the mail"
Judge Lands commenced reading
his decision at 10 o'clock and occu.
pied about one hour in its delivery.
He reviewed the facts in the case,
took up the arguments of attorneys
for the defense, and answered them
and then passed judgment on the com.
pany. which he declared violated the
law for the sole purpose of swelling
its dividends.
The court held that the roads have
no more right to make a secret rate
for a shipper than board of assess
ors would have to make secret as
sessment of any particular piece of
property
The court expressed regret that the
law failed to provide more serious pun
ishment than fine, out insisted that
the penalty should be sufficiently large
to act as a deterrent and not of such
a size as to encourage the defender
to persist in Iawlessness.
At the conclusion of his opinion and
after announcing the amount OF the
fine. Judge Lands directed that a spe-
oial grand jury be called for the pur-
pose of inquiry into the facts in the
Chicago and Alton Railroad company,
it having been proved in the case just
closed that the oil company accepted
rebates from that corporation This
iurv is summoned for August IA.
This decision of Judge Lands arous'
ed almost as much public interest as
did the presence of John D. Rookie
Teller and the other officials of the
STANDARD Oil company in the court
room on July 6. The crush was SO
great that a large force Of deputy
marsbars had much difficulty in con
trolling the crowd that was anxious
tn force its way into the courtroom.
The case will be appealed and II Is
arnected that 1t will be heard during
the January term Of the United states
court Of appeals
Under the seven indictments still
repding against the Standard Oil COM
nanv an additional fine amounting TO
8S.44O,OOO may be levied against the
company if it is found guilty on triai'
There are in these seven indictments
total of 4,422 counts, and the maxi
mum fine in each suit would be S2o'
900.