The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-04
Court Fixes Punish ment of Big Cor
 poration. OTHER PARTIES ARE TO BE INVESTIGATED Much Interest is Shown in Read
 ing of Opinion. Presideut Monett and Other Omcials Declare the Government is Un- just, and President Roosevelt
 Expresses His Complete
 Satisfaction.

Satisfaction.
 Chicago. August 3-Judge LandIs to- day in the United States District court fined the Standard oil Co.,, of Indiana $2s.240.000 for violations of the law against accepting rebates from rail- roads.
 The fine Is the largest ever assess- ed against any individual or any cor poration in the history of American criminal Jurisprudence and is slightly more than 131 times as great as the \ amount received by the company through its relating operations. The case will be carried to the higher courts by the defendant company.
 The penalty imposed upon the com pany Is the maximum under the law and 1t was announced at the end of a long opinion in which the methods and practices of the Standard oil Company were mercilessly scored. The judge in fact declared in his opinion that the officials of the Standard oil Company who were responsible for the practices of which the corporation was found guilty were no better than counter feiters and theives. his exact language being:
 We may as we'll look at this situa- tion sauarely. The men who thus society more deeply than does he who counterfeits coins or steals letters from the mail.'
 Judge LAndis commenced reading ais decision at 10 o'clock and occupied About one hours in it's delivery He up the arguments of the attorneys for the defense and answered them and then passed Judgment upon the com pany which he declared violated the law for the sole purpose of swelling it's dividends.
 have no more right to make a secret rate for a shipper than a board of 2 assessors would have to make a secret assessment on any particular piece ow property.
 The court expressed regret that the law failed to provide more serious punishment than . fine but insisted that the penalty should be sufficiently large to act as deterrent. and not of such a size as to encourage the de- fender to persist in lawlessness.
 To Investigate Railroad.
 At the conclusion of his opinion and after announcing the amount of the fine Judge Landis directed that special grand jury be called for the purpose of inQuiring into the acts of the Chicago and Alton Railroad Co. 1t having been proven in the case just closed that the oil company accepted rebates from that corporation. This jury Is summoned for August 14.
 The decision of the judge aroused almost as much public interest as did the presence of John D. Rockefeller and other officials of the Standard oil Company in the court room on July force of deputy marshals had much dif- ficulty in controlling the crowd that was anxious to force its way into the court room.
 The Government was represented in the court room by United States Dis trict Attorney Sims and Assistant Dis tr1ct Attorney Wilkerson. The attor- neys who tried the case for the Stand ard oil Company. John S. Miller, Moritz Rosenthal and Aldred D. Eddy were not present. the company being repre- scented by Merritt Starr, a partner of the Miller and Chauncey Martin from the office of MT Eddy.
 When Judge Landis took his seat on the bench. he said quietly:
 The United States versus the Stand ard oil Company. Is the defendant represen ted?"
 If the court please" said MT. Starr. "on behalf of the defendant and in the absence of the regular counsel. but with their authority. l desire to make a suggestion or two pertaining to the nnal order in the case before -"
 Does not 1t strike you" broke in Judge Landis. that 1t would be well to wait until have finished with this document? Then I will hear wha. you have to say."
 he spoke. and MT Starr sat down.
 During the reading of the opinion, when the court said something espe- cially sttnging against the company or It's methods, the spectators would laugh loudly and the bailiffs were con- pelled repeatedly to rap for order.
 The court had not proceeded far in its opinion when he was interrupted by some attorneys who were trying to transact business with the clerk of the court. Leaning over the railing in front of him, the Judge inquired, with quiet sarcasm:
 T am not interruptine won 1entIe- men. am I?'
 Handclapping by Spectators.
 The attorneys fled and the reading was resumed. Loud hand-cIapninr broke out when the court said: When, after all the circumstances of the trial have been brought out and the de- fendant persistently maintains that the constitution of the United States suar- antees to 1t the right to make a private contract for a railroad rate, this court is obliged to confess that he is unable to indulge in the presumption that in this case the defendant was convicted of its virgin offense."
 When the reading had been con- cluded, Judge Landis turned to Attor- ney Starr and declared that he was ready to hear what he had to say.
 MT; Starr said that 1t had been prom