Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-08
STANDARD IS SILENT
viii Offer No Further Evidence
to Judge Lands. Il.
STATEMENT BY ITS LAWYERS
Case Outside the Jurisdiction of the
Court,
ITS LAST CHANCE TO PLEAD
Witnesses Will, However, Remain In
Case the Court Wants to
Question Them. :
BYITS LAWYERS
rs LAST CHANCE TO PLEAD

CHICAGO, July S.-The attorneys for tho
Standard Oil Company today declined to
submit any further evidence In the investi-
cation held on Saturday by Judge Lands
in the United States district court. Judge
Lands then announced that sentence will
be passed on the Standard OIL Company OF
Indiana. which was convicted of using ille-
gal railroad rates, on August 3.
Although they have been afforded the
oportunity by Judge Lands of presenting
evidence before the federal court that the
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey has
never broken any of the interstate COM
merce laws. officers of the corporation now
in Chicago and the attorneys for the COM
pany were undecided until this morning
whether they would take advantage of the
chance today.
Judge Lands notified them at the close
of court Saturday that he would listen to
anything they had to present which they
thought might show that they were inno-
cent in other cases. 1t is believed that 1t
was his intention to take into consideration
any mitigating facts in fixing the fine.
Whether the defendants would try to
make a showing not was to be decided
at a conference to be held this morning i'm
mediately before the converting of court in
the offices of the company. 1t is under
stood that the instructions given by Mr..
Rockefeller himself in a conference at At
torney Miler's office after the close of court
Saturday were to present the case as per-
mitted by the court.
Conference of Counsel.
The question under discussion yes
terday between the attorneys and officers
of the company, but a final decision was
postponed until today.
The Standard Oil Company is ready to
appear in court and furnish Judge Lands
With the exception of John D. Rockefeller
and his brother Wi liam all of the witnesses
who were subpoened have remained in Chi.
cago to await the pleasure Of the court.
I'VE are ready to give Judge Lands any
information that he may desire which will
have any bearing on the case" said Attog-
ney Morits Rosenthal yesterday. I'VE hold
ourselves entirely at the discretion OF the
court"
District Attorney Sims said yesterday
that the question Of asking for indictments
against the Standard Oil Company of New
Jersey based on the admissions of witnesses
in court Saturday to the effect that tho
company had received mileage OF three
fourths of a cent on cars from the Union
Tank Line Company had not been consid-
cred at the present time He intfmated that
it might be made the basis of further ac-
cases are ended.
Mr.. Rosenthal and Mr.. Miller. attorneys
for the company, both denied that there
was any significance to the testimony on
that point.
Official Statement.
When the attorneys interested appeared
before Judge Lands at the opening Of
court today he said to the attorney for the
company:
Have you anything to offer in this case
prior to the entering of the final order?'
I'VE have a formal statement to make"
said Attorney Rosenthal Mr.. Rosenthal
read 1t substantially as follows:
I'm answer to the court as to whether the
defendant desires to offer any evidence
tending to show that the defendant, or the
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey.
violated the interstate commerce law be-
fore, and appearing now for the purpose
of answering this inquiry and denying the
jurisdiction of the court in the premises.
and contending that this entire in
quiry is beyond the legal power OF the
court, the defendant still insisting that the
record in this case shows that 1t is inno-
cent of the offenses charged in the indict-
ment, the defendant desires to say:
There are In the record no suggestions
that this defendant ever before was
charged with violation Of the interstate
commerce law.
For the defendant now to assert it's in
nocence 'of matters that 1t Is not charged
with, or attempt to show that II has been
innocent of wrongdoing in connection with
matters outside Of the record of this case.
would present a situation unheard of in
Anglo-SaXon Jurisprudence"
0uuSuleut Lay set.
The statement claimed at some length
that the court has no right to go outside
the record of the case in considering the
penalty to be melted out.
The statement then concludes:
IF the occasion shall ever arise in an APP
propriate proceeding where this defendant
can without any waiver of its legal rights
subject itself to the question Of its havinas
heretofore violated the interstate commerce
law II will certainly appear that since the
passage of the law there has been no vio-
lation of its provisions by either the Stand
ard Oil Company of New Jersey or the
Standard Oil Company of Indiana"
Through the reading of the statement
Judge Lands listened with much interest
and when it was concluded said abruptly:
THE final order in this case will be en-
tered Saturday, August 3. Call the next
case"
J. D. Archbold, vice president of the
Standard Oil Company of New Jersey; H
E FELTON,, president of the Union Tank
line; c. NJ. Pratt, secretary of the Stand
ard Oil Company, and F. Q. Barstow. the
assistant treasurer, were in court during
the proceedings.