The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-02-06
sTANpARD OIL PLEA.
Declares Corporations IIasn't Tried to
 Buy amy Newspapers.

DectuEtS COFpOEIhhtM8 H&NSBt tEtEn hV
 Buy amy Newspapers.
 New York. Feb. 5.---William F. Howe, assistant secretary of the Standard Oil Company, issued statement today in which he declared that "No such inl- position upon the newspapers as the report of the Interstate Commerce Com mission infers was practiced by the Standard Oil Company.
 The statement dealt mainly with the evidence given to the Commission by Malcolm Jennings, of Lancaster, Ohio, and read as follows:
 Tt has been given out at the office of the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington that tho Commission based It's views on the relations of the Standard Oil Company to the press on the evidence of Malcolm Jennings, an advertising agent of Lancaster. Ohio. briefly examined last May in the hear ing at Cleveland. Extracts from Mir. Jennings's testimony were furnished to the reporters and have been repro duced in tho newspapers but the fol- lowing which really explains the na- ture of Mir. Jenings's advertising con- tracts was strangely omitted. He tes- tiAed:
 T conduct private advertising agency. place contracts for the Standard OH or anybody else who of- fers me business. My contracts are on a general form. They provide for fixed base of display advertising and there is an agreement as to a charge for reading matter acceptable to the publisher to be rCn In his columns I have neS offered to anybody any ad. vertising-any editorial matter.
 T have not asked for the publica- ton of any statements of any kind. except those coming from other sources. and 1t is purely and properly legiti- mate, just as legitimate for the Stand ard Oil Company or any other clients to present their stories of the case to the paper and pay 1t for expIoita- tion as if it were placed on a bulletin board. I have not done anything else, It will be seen here that Mir. Jen. hlngs stated that lie had made con tracts which covered rates for display | and also for reading natter but that { under these contracts he had not offer i ca the papers any editorial matter in the way of advertising on behalf of the Standard oil Company and any he did not offer was from other sources- other clients. presumably.
 There was absolutely no founda tion i III the evidence or in tho fact for the stat"ment in the committees report that contracts were made by the Stand ard for display advertising and then
 
 stated in the following passage from i the report:
 { The Standard buys advcrtising 1 space in many newspapers which 1t ! d'ls. not with advertisements. but with reading matter prepared by agents Kept for that purpose and paid for at ! advertising rates as ordinary news ! The assumption is that this litera ture ! farH lahe3 many Of the dens touching 1 the great benefits conferred upon the | public h3' the Standard OH Company No such imposition upon the news | papers was pTacticed as thc paragraph inters, No such reading matter pre- pared by agents kept fer that purpose was furnished or offered Whatever need there may be and in view of suct 1 unwarfanted statements as the above 1 i; would seem q great one to put for ward some account of the great bene- dts conferred on the public by the Standard oil Company. it was not un- dertaken under any of Mr. Jennings contracts, which were used solely to cover advertisements of the company s | commercial products. When the news papers are SO open to all that may ap- pear cn it's face to bc 6 revelation dcrogatorY to the Standard oil Com pany they will It is to be hoped prove | equally willing 10 print candid and ircontrovertihle refutation of the al l legged fscts and reductio ad bsur-
 dun of the unfounded assumption | above noted.
 (SiSnedD William P. Howe
 Assistant Secretary Standard Oi
 Company"