The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-05-24
Standard Oil Company in Court
at st. Paul, Mimi.
A Notable Array of Lawyers on
Both Sides.
BILL OF EXCEPTIONS.
To Be Argued in Suit Started
by the Government.
The Defendant Is Seeking to
Narrow the Issue.

ST. Paul, Mimi, May 24.-Not since
the last arguments were made in the
famous Northern Securities case in the
United States court here about three
years ago, has there been so noted an
array of lawyers as appeared in that
court this morning in the case OF the
United States against the Standard OIL
company of New Jersey and its allied
corporations. Judges Sanborn, Vande-
venter, Hook and Adams were on the
bench and the matter brought up for
their consideration was a bill of ex-
ceptions filed by the Standard Oil COM
pany against the governments COM
plaint which seeks to have the Stand
ard Oil company and its 20 other COM
panies, declared an unlawful combina-
ton in restraint of trade and to have
the combination dissolved.
Frank b. Kellogg, of this city, repre-
sents the government, and he made the
principal argument. He was assisted
by NJ. D. Purdy, assistant attorney
general, and G. B. Morrison of Chi
cago.
The Standard Oil company was repre-
sented by John T. Johnson, of Phila-
delphia; John G. Milburn, of New
York. and H. S. Priest of st. Louis.
The complaint which was filed num-
Der of months ago in st. Louis, sets
up well known allegations against the
company and goes into extensive details
concerning various offenses which il Is
alleged the company has committed.
The complaint begins with the tncep-
tion of the trust; shows the relations
which John d. Rockefeller, II. H. Rog-
ers and others of the Standard OIL
group bore to each other prior 10 1893.
when the Standard Oil company was
organized as holding company; shows
how these men prior to that date held
the stock of subsidiary and related COM
panies as trustees, and shows how in
1899, the Standard Oil company was
formed as a holding company to take
over the subsidiary and related COM
panies for the express purpose or car
rving on the methods of business which
had been developed by Rockefeller, ,Tog-
ers and the others as trustees
The purpose of the bill of exceptions
is to narrow the issue in the case TO
charges against the Standard Oil COM
pany which date back not further than
1899 when the company was organized
The company filed exceptions and OBJ
jects to all those parts of the COM
pIaint that show the original alleged
conspiracy of the Standard Oil trust
which preceded the organization of the
Standard holding company. The Dill OF
exceptions makes something like % OBJ
iections to the complaint, the purpose
of all of which is to narrow the issue
bv eliminating all parts of the COM
plant that refer to the business meth
DDS of Rockefeller, Rogers ana the
others as trustees prior to 1899
The ruling of the judges on the bill
of exceptions will not determine the
final outcome of the government case
h1It the Judges will determine whether
the complaint shall stand as filed or
whether it shall be amended in any
particular as demanded by the Stand
ard oil attorneys. If the decision OF
the Judges is with the government, then
the case will proceed along the lines
heretofore outlined by Mr.. Kellogg, Mr.
Morris and Mr.. Purdy. If the conten-
tions set forth by Standard Oil attor-
news in the bill of exceptions are up
held in any or all particulars. then It
will be necessary to extend the COM
the court.
In either event the next step in the
fight against the Standard Oil trust will
be the taking of testimony in substan-
tiation of allegations set forth in the
complaint