The Miller sun. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 190?-19??, 1907-08-17
Judge K. M. Lands OF
Federal Court Assesses
Enormous Fine.
lurist Shows Spirit and Regrets
that Prison Term Cannot
Be Imposed
Special Grand Jury Is Ordered, and
Railroads May Also Face Grim
inaI Prosecution.

| Judge Kenesaw NJ. lands Of the
Federal District Court in Chicago on
Saturday fined the Standard Oil Com
pany $23,240,0OO for having violated
the Ellins law pertaining to rebates.
! on 1,462 counts. 1t was the maximum
penalty permitted by the statutes. Md
| 1t is the largest assessment for an i'll
! fraction of law that is recorded In all
| history. for all governments. This vast
| sum Of money is not to DE paid without
| protest, however. Attorneys for the oil
! corporation announced their intention
OF perfecting an appeal TO the United
States Court of Appeals. From there
| 1t is announced the case will go TO the
Federal Supreme Court.
Judge Kenesaw NJ. lands of the
United States District Court, who in
! flicted the unprecedented penalty, did
not stop with the imposition of the fine.
| He directed attention TO the studied
! insolence" of the legal representatives
OF the corporation to the court of which
he was the representative and COM
mented forcefully upon it. After de-
| nouncing the methods OF the oil COM
paIy, which he declared imposed bur
| dens upon every class of citizens and
wounded society more deeply than open
depredations of criminals, the jurist
! expressed regret that only fine could
be imposed for violations Of the law
under which the company was indicted.
! While this regret ives being voiced 1t
was recalled that there still are pend
ing against the oil corporations seven
| indictments like the one just disposed
of. containing 4,422 counts. Should
there be convictions on all these counts
there would he possible additional fines
of SSS,4i0,OO0.
Springs Second Sensation.
While occupants Of the crowded
courtroom leaned forward in amaze
ment at the drastic Arrangement of the
corporation and the gigantic penalty
meted out to it, the jurist stirred them
anew. Judge lands had no sooner
mentioned the amount of the 500, 240,-
COO fine than he caused a second ire.
mendous sensation that he would cali
grand jury to investigate the rela-
tons of the railroads to the big rebate
conspiracy. In view Of his remark
that the penitentiary was the place for
the offenders, and that Congress at the
last session passed an act under which
they may be sentenced to serve time
! fI,a plac+rip
officials to BE Prosecuted.
Backed by the cohesive forces of the
United States authorities, it is expect
ed that Judge lands will proceed
against the railroad companies that
gave 10 Mr.. Rockefeller's oil trust IL
legal rebates. And he will attack the
individuals Of both the oil and the
railroad corporations instituting and
permitting such preferential rates. The
railroads are likely to be indicted on
lines identical with the procedure in
the Standard Oil cases fined by Judge
Lands The individuals will be prose
cuted under the conspiracy act under
which. after conviction, there is pre-
scribed a penitentiary sentence.
Thus John n. Rockefeller, William
Rockefeller, JOIN d. Archbold, III. H.
Rogers, J. A. Moffett and other officers
of the Standard Oil Company, to@:ther
with the contracting freight officers,
tauditors and other executives Of the
offending railroad companies are to be
Indicted with the end IN view Of plac-
ing them In prison.
The session was declared by many
of the lawyers to be an epoch-making
one n national history. From the
Federal bench and with the co-opera-
ton Of the United States Government
prosecutors the Standard OIL Company
had received penalty commensurate
with the vastness OF its holdings II
the parent body of New jersey does not
come to the assistance Of its subsidiary
branch it 10 considered likely the Indi.
ana company will succunlb.