Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-08-23
STANDARD TRUST
IN GLOOMY TALE.
NO CHANCE FOR JUSTICE AND YET
coMPANY'S HONEST, SAYS
STATEMENT.
JOLT ROOSEVELT AND lands.
One Stirring Strife for Political Purpose
and Other Declared Unfair
in Trial.

with 4 long statement to its employees
and stockholders today relative to the
fine of $40, 24O,0 900 imposed by Judge
Lands at Chicago recently in the Chica-
go & Alton cases. While the pamphlet
is not addressed to the public it is the
evident intention of the company to
secure its publicity. 1t comes out on
the same date as the Presidents speech
at Provincetown, Mass.
The Standard company still pleads its
INNOCENCE and goes on to declare that
it is nearly impossible to get justice in
this country when the administration
chiefly the President, continues in his
persecution" for political reasons, of
large corporations. The pamphlet talks
about the newspaper editors, who under
influence of Washington, help the Presi
dent WELD the hammer Some of these
editors have changed their minds says
the statement. because they investigated
the Standard company and found it
an honest sort OF proposition. The
statement gives number of incidents
where the Standard sees the hand of
the President trying to influenced public
opinion and the courts, particularly
through the inaccurate" reports of Her
bert Knox Smith.
What motive underlies the campaign
cussed, but for all. friends aud foes.
it is reiterated that the Standard Oil
company is carrying on widespread
business Of great moment to the pros
| perity of the American people i'll absO-
| lutte obedience to the soundest principles
of business and to the spirit and letter
| of the law. Attacks upon it OF the kind
! described are aimed at the nations in
| dustrial and mercantile life" says the
statement.
The pamphlet contains a statement
! from President Hoffett, president of the
| Standard Oil company Of Indiana, and
Il number Of editorial articles favorable
to the company, taken from various
| American newspapers.
Still Pleads Innocence.
The especially noteworthy feature of
! the pamphlet is its introductory state
ment which is as follows:
The directors of the Standard Oil
| company in printing this pamphlet desire
| to emphasize for the half million people
| directly interested i'll it's welfare the as
| surance of the companys absolute inno-
| cence of wrOngdoing in any of the prose
| cutiOns lately instituted against it IN the
| federal courts. Particularly is this 50
in the present Chicago & Alton railroad
case. made notorious by the sensational
| fine of $29,24O,0O0 imposed on the Stan
| dard Oil company of Indiana.
| No Rebate, Says Statement.
! cit should be known as widely as
possible that this is no case of rebate
| discrimination, but simply of the legality
| of a freight rate. 1t should be known
| that the verdict was obtained by the
| government upon the most hair-splitting
| technicality. aided by the rigorous eXclu-
sion of evidence that would have re-
moved all presumption of guilt
| Raps for Judge Lands.
81
| lowed to stand the company will be
! forced to pay $4,000, OOO-that is, fifty
| times the value of the oil for every car
! load carried over the Alton road during
| two years at an open 6-cent rate-a rate
! used over three competing railroads from
! ten to fourteen years. The trial judge
| refused to allow proof that the G-cent
rate had been filed by the Chicago *
! Eastern Illinois. and was therefore
legal rate. He refused to allow proof
! that lnseed oil, for instance, was carried
| at 5 cents, and other bulk commodities
| as low as 5 cents. He insisted that IS
cents was the only legal rate for OIL
when no one had ever paid it, and when
! it was authOritatively sworn that it did
not apply to oil.
| Hot Shot for Administration.
The case has been taken on appeal
| to the higher courts, to which we must
look for that calm judgment which will
! rescue the rights of the citizen from the
field Of public clamOr and from the do
| main of vindictiye politics.
80 persistent and adroit has been the
| warfare waged with all the overpower-
| ing authority of the federal administra-
| ton against the Standard Oil company
| that it has been manifestly difficult to
| get a fair hearing before the public or
| in a large portion of the press, the lat
! ter, to its great harm, swayed alike by
| Socialistic cutlery from below and politi
| cal pressure from above
No Chance for Justice
LAS proof of the latter it may be
| noted that in the Presidents meSSag e of
| May i, 1906, attack was made on the
Standard Oil company for the purpose
of forcing the passage of the bill re-
hitting the duty on denatured alcohol
Il measure in which the company was
not Interested.
On May Il. 1906. the issue of Com
missioner Garfeld's report on petroleum
transportation, 4 tissue of old misrepre-
sensations, was timed to influence the
Hepburn rate bill then before Con
greSs.
On May 20, 1907. while Judge Lands
had still under consideration the iudg-
! ment III the Chicago & Alton case, Com
| missioner Smiths illogical and partisan
report on pipe lines was made public
| The commissioners second report on
petroleum prices and profts-a wholly
false deduction from incomplete facts
was sent in advance TO the press for
publication on August ), in the knowl-
edge that Judge Lands would pronounce
judgment August 8. Here surely is evil
dence of a combination influencing all
sources of public opinion, disturbing the
orderly disposition of justice sanctioning
i'll advance and supporting when made,
the most sensational opinions and judg-
mentS hostile to the company.
As to Some Editors.
What motive underlies the campaign
! of defamation need not here be dis
| cussed, but for all, friends and foes.
| it is reiterated that the Standard Oil
| company is carrying on a widespread