The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-04-14
LIABLE TO FINE
OF S29,26O,OOO
Standard Oil Company of lndi-
ana Found Guilty of AC-
Cepting Rebates.
CASE WILL BE APPEALED
HUNDREDS OF COUNTS IN THE
INDICTMENT.

Chicago, April 13.-The Standard Oil
company of Indiana, which has been
on trial for the last six weeks before
Judge L. NJ. Lands in the United
States district court on a charge of
having received rebates from the Chi
cago e. Alton railroad on shipments Of
oil from Whiting. Ind. to East st.
Louis. H.. was found guilty tonight on
1853 counts of the original 1908 i'm the
indictment. The remaining 440 counts
ere dropped from the indictment on
account of errors. If the verdict is sus-
tanned the oil company is liable to a fine
of S29 100000. as the Elkins law. which
the indictment charged the company
with having violated, provides a fine of
$1,000 To $4,000 for each Offense. Pend
Tag d motion for a new trial. which
John 5. Miller. chief counsel for the
defendant, announced would be made
Immediately, no action will be taken
by the court toward collecting the fine.
Each Count Separate.
The indictments charged that i'm the
shipment of | 1908 cars of oil over the
Chicago Terminal Transfer and the
Chicago & Alton railways from Whit
ing. Ind, to East St. Louis. Ill. by way
of Chappeil, Ill, the oil company ac-
cepted a rate of s cents for 100 pounds
when the published rate was Is cents.
Early i'm the trial attorneys for the de
Tense endeavored to have all the counts
in the indictment thrown out on tech
nicalities, but the court ordered that
each count be considered separately,
which was done.
After a great deal of arguments
counts in which errors were found were
dropped. The defense then devoted its
efforts toward proving that the COM
pany was unaware of the fact that the
special rate had not been filed with the
interstate commerce commission. as
provided by the ElIlins law. Evidence
was offered by the government show
ing that it was the duty Of the COM
panys officials to see that rates &C
Ceptpd by them were in the hands Of
the Interstate commerce commission.
Charge of the Court.
Touching on this part of the evidence,
Judge Lands, in his charge to the jury,
said:
THE indictment alleges that the de-
! PENDANT accepted a concession know
( ingly. To sustain this aVeTment the
proofs need not establish that the de-
! PENDANT had actually known of the law
( full rate. 1t was the duty of the de-
/ PENDANT diligently to endeavor in good
faith TO get from the Chicago x Alton
/ Railway company the lawful rate By
applying to one of the cOmpany's Off
| cers. In making this endeavOr the de-
1 PENDANT is presumed to have known
/ that the railway company would be
/ guilty of q misdemeanOT if it gave the
defendant Il rate on interstate traffic
which was not set down on paper anG
I a COPY of the schedule fled with the in
] terstate commerce commission
Duty of Company to Know.
/ In regard to the assertion by the de-
! Tense that the Standard Oil company
! did not know of the existence Of the
tariff on which the indictment was
based Judge Lands said that the evil
dence submitted by the government
went to show that there was depart
ment in the Standard Oil company
which dealt with oil in lots less than
one carload, and that it would have
been absolutely necessary for the head
| of this department to be familiar with
/ the tariff in question.
The jury was out less than three
hours and reached the verdict on the
/ first ballot.