The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-08-09
MONSTER FINE FOR
STANDARD OIL
$50, goo vERDIcT-oFFicIALs
MAY HAVE TO WEAR
STRIPES.
Methods Of The Big Robber Trust
Disclosed.


? court, today fined the Standard oil
Company S29. 100000. for having viola
] ted the Elkins law pertaining to re
bates on 1.462 counts. 1t was the
maximum penalty permitted by the
statutes. And it is the largest assess.
ment for an infraction OF the law that
is recorded in all history, for all gov
ernments.
1t was a dramatic morning in court.
What Judge Lands had to say to
John D. Rockefellers trust will live
as one of the most sensational utter
anees coming from the bench. Twice
Judge Lands was applauded. But he
halted the demonstrations, rapping
iercely on the wooden desk in front of
him with his bare knuckles.
Backed by the cohesive forces of the
United States government, Judge Lam
dis will proceed against the Chicago &
Alton, the Chicago & Eastern Illinois
and the Chicago Terminal railroad
companies that give to Mr.. Rockefel- |
lers oil trust illegal rebates. And he |
will attack the individuals Of both the |
oil and the railroad corporations in
stituting and permitting such prefer
entail rates. The railroads are to be
indicted on lines Identical with the
procedure in the Standard Oil cases,
fined by Judge Lands today. The in
dividuals will be prosecuted under the
conspiracy act, for which, after con-
viction, there is prescribed peniten-
tiary sentence.
Thus, John ID. Rockefeller, William
John D. Arnold, H. H.
Rogers, j. A. Moffat and other officers
Of the Standard Oil Company, together
with the contracting freight officers,
auditors and other executives of the |
Chicago & Alton and the Chicago &
Eastern Illinois and Chicago Terminal
'ailroads are to be indicted, with the T
End in view of placing on them suits
II striped clothes, surround them with
ron bars, subject them to shame and
Iisgrace.
When Judge Lands had concluded
With the reading of his opinion affect
ng the Standard Oil Company of In =
lana, the indicted concern, during the
litigation of which the entire CONNER
ial world has been interested, he turn
irected that panel of sixty men APP
ear before him August IA. The du- :"
es of this inquisitorial body will be
, look after the offending railroads
nd the individuals.
Significant revelations are made
lbiic today in report submitted to
resident Roosevelt by Herbert X. -
NTH, Commissioner of Corporations, III
,ncerning the operations of the "
-andard Oil Company. -
In a previous report the means and W
ethods of the Standard were ex- W
aimed. The present report sets ~
nth the results of those methods VIC
id the effect they have had on the "
nsumer of oil and on the profits of ol'
e Standard Oil Company. 1t deals se
tn profits and prices, showing just Il
W the manipulations of the oil indus u
/, by the Standard has affected the th'
cket-books of the American people. wa
-,o,,r,;soioner Smith saws. pan
The Standard Oil Company is re- ~
,nsible for the course Of prices OF TN
-roleum and it's products during the n u
+ twenty-five years The Standard SUI
5 consistently used its power to An'
Sc the price of oil during the last
wears. not only absolutely but rlet
q relatively to the cost of crude oil. 10
The Standard has claimed that 1t no
reduced the price of oil; that 1t wei
, been a benefit to the consumer, stol
that only great combination Voi'
, the Standard could have furnished sim
at the prices that have prevailed. min
Each one of these claims, says
nmissioner Smith, lis disproved by ~
report" "
he increase in annual profits OF the
ndard from 1896 to 1904 was over
100000. The report says:
The total dividends paid by the L.
ndard from 1892 to 1906 were $551.- Law
9O4. averaging thus 24.15 per cent first
year. The dividends, however, ford
g much less than the total earn to P
!. It is substantially certain that SOM
entire net earnings of the Stand The
from 1882 to 1906 were at least coun
900, 900. and possibly much more. crop
Original investment state
these enormous profits have been
ID on investment worth, at the Tn
Of its original acquisition, not III
e than $75,O0O,OOO,
MlN GLE WENT AWAY