The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-08-09

at about $3.50, We have been fined
$4,000. An appeal will be taken to
the United States circuit court of ap-
peals and carried to the court of last
resort, but whether it will be entered
at once or whether the full time al
lowed by law will be taken will be
determined by our counsel"
The case upon which the judge as
sessed the huge fine was brought upon
indictments containing 1,462 counts,
charging the acceptance of rebates
amounting to $223,O00 from the Chi
cago & Alton railroad on shipments
of 5000 cars of oil from Whiting, Ind,
to East st. Louis. The law gave the
court the power to impose the maxi
mum fine of $4,000 on each count
The minimum fine provided is 81 ,000
Jail Also May Be in Sight.
The surprising finale of the day
came when the judge issued his call
for a special grand jury and directed
District Attorney Sims to proceed at
once against the Alton railroad and to
direct an investigation of the individu-
als-Standard Oil and Alton officials
who were parties to the scheme by
which the Standard Oil company of
Indiana secured the transportation of
it's products at less than one third the
legal rate.
The charge to be made against these
men is conspiracy to violate federal
law, known as section 5440 of the re-
vised statutes of the United States.
The punishment for conviction of this
offense is fine of $4,000, or sentence
of two years in the penitentiary, or
both
Men in Danger of Indictments.
The men who may be deemed to be
in danger of such indictment are:
Standard Oil Officials:
J. A. Moffett, president of the Stan.
dard Oil company of Indiana.
w. P. Cowan, vice president of the
Standard Oil company of Indiana.
H. E. FELTON,, president Union Tank
Line company and traffic manager for
the Standard Oil company of New
Jersey.
E. Bogardus, traffic manager for the
Standard Oil company of Indiana.
Chicago & Alton Officials: a
S. M. FELTON,, president Chicago &
Alton Railroad company.
Joseph w. Blabon, traffic manager
for Chicago & Alton.
Charles A. King, general freight
agent for the Chicago & Alton.
Charles H. Davis, former auditor for
the Chicago & Alton.
Some Unpleasant Comparisons.
In his utterances against the oil
company preliminary to assessing the
great fine, and also preliminary to the
calling of the other grand jury, Judge
Lands clearly expressed his belief
that the Standard Oil company was
no better than common thief, en-
phasizing the position that he has
taken throughout the trial.
"The men who deliberately violate
this law said he, wound society
more deeply than he who counterfeits
coin or steals letters from the mail"
Referring to the reply by the defend
ants attorney to his proposition that
they produce evidence that they had
not been guilty of previous offenses,
the Judge took occasion to rebuke
them for what he termed their gratui-
tous agitation about "the mob"
Question az to the "Mob."
Said he, after quoting from the an
swer of the attorneys in which they
recommended that the court pay mo
attention to the gossip of the street
or the charges of the mob:
Waving the question of the studied
insolence of this language, in so far
as it may be aimed at the present oc-
cupant of the bench, the court can. Of
course, only leave to the discretion of
the Standard Oil company the wisdom
and propriety of a hundred million dol
lar corporations gratuitous inaugural
ing agitation about the mob"
In scoring the corporations plea
that 1t had right to enter into pri-
vate contracts, the judge said:
Under the doctrine insisted upon
by the defendant, the railway COM
pany might give the Standard Oil
company a low transportation rate
and by contract obligate itself to
withhold the same rate from the man
the taking of whose property by con-
demnation rendered possible the con-
struction of the road. A more abhor-
rent hpraSU could NOT ha cnnnaiuod