The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-18
AGAIN AFTER THE STANDARD Government Probing Into
 Oil Trust. ENORMOUS PROFITS SHOWN Company Cleared $4sO,3l5,s25 in
 Seven Years. Secretary Pratt shows Surprising Lack Of Information As to the Organ ization--ComptroiIer Fay On
 The stand.

New York, Sept. 17.--Delving into the financial workings of the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey the hold ing company of all the subsidiary or- ganizations of the so-called oil trust, Frank B. Kellogg, conducting the Fed eral suit for the dissolution of the company brought forth today to public view for the first time the enormous profits made by the Standard oil Com pany. In a period of eight years, from 1899 to 1906. inclusive, the Standard Oil Company. in a statement spread upon the record of today's hearings, was shown to have earned the total profits of $490, 3i5, ,934, or at the rate of more than S61, ,000.000 a year and distributed to it's shareholders in the same period $30s,35s.4o3.
 While the company was earning these vast sums in the refining of oil the statements adduced at the hearing to- day shows that between 1899 and 1906 the assets of the company grew by leaps and bounds from $200, ,7e1,523 to $S7i,s64.531. The capital stock is $9S. 33S,ss2. F1nanciers and those seek ing knowledge of the exact profits of the Standard oil Company have striv- en vainly to obtain the figures Mir. Kellogg succeeded today in placing up- on the records of the court. The Standard oil Company makes no state- ments of its business and other than the declaration of dividend it makes no public announcement by which its business. may be gauSed.
 Gets Much Information.
 The hearing today brought out much information which Mir. Kellogg ob- tained from the Standard Oil Company. Mir. Kellogg obtained a statement showing that the Standard oil Company Of New Jersey controlled by stock ownership over seventy companies en- gagged in refining and transportation by help of pipe lines of oil on Sep- tember IA. 1907. The Standard oil has always carefully guarded the list of it's subsidiary companies and the amount of its sharehoidings. The list showed that the Standard ofI Com pany Of New Jersey owned ssss. .o0o of | the total capital stock of S1.000, 900 of the Standard oil Company of Indiana. which was recently fined $29.240.000 by Judge Landis in the United States Cir- cult Court in Chicago for accepting rebates.
 Mir. KelIogg's efforts at today's hearing to obtain information of the records of the liquidating trustees who had charge of the liquidation of the Standard oil Trust and the exchange of the liquidating trust certificates for the shares of the Standard oil Com pany of New Jersey were not re- warded. Charles NJ. Pratt, secretary of the Standard oil Company, who tes- tified that he had been liqutdating trustee. said he did not know the whereabouts of the records and could recall but little regarding the liquI- dation of the Standard oil Trust. Clar- ence Fay. assistant comptroller for the Standard Oil Company, the final wit ness today, was also unable to give the Governments inquisitor the in- formation he desired, which caused MT. Kellogg to remark that he thought 1t strange that no one in the Standard oil Company seemed to know where the records of the liquidating trustees could be found.
 The testimony was heard in the Fed eral suit against the standard oil Com pany of New Jersey. The hearings here in the Federal suit which was has twice been adjourned at the re- quest of counsel for the defendants. In the meantime, however, Frank E. {. Kellogg, who is in charge of the gov ernment's case, has obtained many books and papers from the Standard oil Company, which has enabled him to proceed expeditiously with the case. MT. Kellogg intimated today that the government would also inquire into the character and nature of holdings of the Standard oil Company of New Jersey as we'll as it's affiliations, if any, with railroads.
 The United States government has named not only the Standard Odl Com pany of New Jersey as defendant but also seventy subsidiary companies or the main corporation and the follow ing individuals: John D. Rockefeller. William Rockefeller. Henry H. Rogers. Henry M Flagler, Oliver H. Payne, Charles M. Pratt and John ID. Arch bold. Only William c. Rockefeller and Charles M. Pratt have been subpoe- naed to appear before the hearings though MT. Kellogg may subpoena the others later.
 Benedict First Witness.
 When the hearing was called today before former Judge Franklin Ferriss, sitting as special master, E. c. Bene- diet of Greenwich, Conn, was called as the first witness.
 Questioned by MT Kellogg, Mir. Ben edict said that he and Anthony N. Brady owned the Manhattan On Com pany which had an oil producing plant near Galatea, Ohio. Mir. Benedict said that there was a pipe line connected with the company. Refreshing his memory from a slip of paper he said that in october. 1908, he sold 5.175 shares of Manhattan oil stock at $100 a snare. he COAhO ilOL ACSdAA NhO W6S the purchaser of the stock At the time he disposed of the stock he sold S2s6 900 of the company's bonds. He had no negotiations with the officers of the Standard oil Company regarding the sale. Mir. Benedict said he did not know whether the Manhattan oil Com pany went into the possession of Solar Refining Company. He had taken an interest in the Manhattan Company be- cause he was interested in several gas companies and desired to have 6 work ing connection between the gas com panies and the oil companies. Later Mir. ,Bendict said he sold his interests in the gas company.
 MT. Benedict could not recall if he had made any objection to Anthony N. Brady to selling out to the Standard Cal Company. MT. Kellogg asked the witness to produce later the contract between the Manhattan Company and the gas companies. Mir. Benedict was not cross examined.
 Secretary Pratt Testtnes.