The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1907-08-08
Standard Folk Worse Than
Counterfeiters Says Lands.
PLACES S29,240,000 FINE
In Notorious Rebate Case, Rockef.I.
Ier's Corporation is Given Maxi
mum PenaIty-Immense Crowd
Cheers the Verdict.

Judge henneSaW NJ. Lands, IN the
United States district court at Chi
cago fined the Standard Oil company
Of Indiana s29,240,OOO for violations Of
the law against accepting rebates
from railroads The fine is the larg.
est ever assessed against any individ
uals or any corporation in the history
of American criminal jurisprudence,
and is slightly more than 131 times
as great as the amount received by
the company through it's r5bating op,
erations. The case will be carried to
the higher courts by the defendant
company.
The penalty imposed upon the COM
pany is the maximum permitted un-
der the law, and it was announced at
the end Of long opinion in which
the methods and practices of the San
dard Oil company were merciless!y
scored. The judge, in fact, declared,
in his opinion, that the officials Of the
Standard Oil company who were re-
sponsible for the practices of which
the corporation was found guilty, were
no better than counterfeiters and
thives. his exact language being:
I'VE may as well look at this sit
uation squarely. The men who thus
deliberately violate this law, wound
society more deeply than does he who
counterfeits the coin or steals letters
from the mail
Judge Lands comm: m:nced reading
his decision at 10 o'clock and occu-
pied about one hour in its delivery.
He reviewed the fac:s in the case,
took up the arguments of attorneys
fer the defense, and answered them
and then passed judgment on the ccm'
pany which he declared violated the
law for the sole purpose Of swelling
its dividends.
The court held that the roads have
no more right to make secret rate
for a shipper than board Of assess
ors would have to make a secret as
sessment of any particular piece OF
property.
The court expressed regret that the
law failed to provide mere serious pun
ishment than a fine, out insisted that
the penalty should be sufficiently large
to act as a deterrent and not of such
size as to encourage the defender
to persist l. lawlessness.
At the conclusion of his opinion and
after announcing the amount OF the
fine, Judge Lands directed that a spe'
cial grand jury be called'for the pur.
pose CT inquiry into the facts in the
Chicago and Alton Railroad company,
it having been proved in the case just
closed that the oil company accepted
rebates from that corporation. This
Jury is summoned for August IA.
This decision of Judge Lands arous-
ed almost as much public interest a:
did the presence of John D. Rookie
feller and the other officials of the
Standard Oil company in the court
room on July 6. The crush was so
great that a large force OF deputy
| marsaals had much difficulty IN con-
trolling the crowd that was anxious
to force its way into the courtroom.
The case will be appealed and it Is
expected that it will be heard during
the January term Of the United States
court of appeals.
Under the seven indictments Still!
pending against the Standard Oil CON-
pany an additional fine amounting to
! s8s,44O,OO0 may be levied against the
! company if it is found gully on trial.
There are in these seven ndlctm :n1s
a total of,4,422 counts, and the maxi
mum fine in each suit would be $780,
900.