The Adair County news., 1908-08-05
Will CONTINUE
LEGAL BATTLE
Uncle Sam Not Daunted by
Overthrow Of Big Fine.
CASE OF THE GOVERNMENT

Within Thirty Days Petition for a
Rehearing Will Be Filed in the Mat
ter of the Extraordinary Proceedings
Against the Standard Oil Company
Reversal of Judge Landis's Decision
Imposing $2e,ooo,ooo Fine Throws
the Case Back to the Point of Be-
ginning.
Although the United States circuit
court of appeals at Chicago has
reversed and remanded the case Of the
government against the Standard Oil
Company of Indiana, in which Judge
Lands in the district court had i'm
posed a fine of 29,24O,0 900, the govern
ment forces will continue the legal
battle.
The government has thirty days
within which to file a petition for a
re-hearing, and it will be filed within
the allotted period. In his opinion,
which was concurred in by Judges Sea
man and Baker, dealing with the I'm
tent feature of the Casa vital
point-Judge Grosscup says:
1--WE should take up these subjects
in the order stated, the first being
whether a shipper can without error
be convicted of accepting concession
from the lawful published rate, even
though it is not shown, as bearing on
the matter of intent, that the shipper
at the time of accepting such conces-
sion knew what the lawful published
rate was-a view of the law that is
embodied in the charge and carried
out in the ruling excluding certain
proffered testimony, including that of
one Edward Bogardus, who, being in
absolute charge of traffic affairs of
plaintiff in error offered to testify that
during that period he did not know
anything about an 1S-centS rate over
the Alton railroad; that his attention
had never been called to any such rate
by any person or by the examination
of any document and that it was his
understanding and belief based on
what he was told by one Holland, tar
if clerk of the Alton railroad, that the
rate over the Alton was six cents; and
that such rate had been filed with the
interstate commerce commission"
Judge Grosscup's opinion leaves lit
tie of the contention that each carload
at the six cents rate constituted
separate offense Even the shipments,
of which there were about $780, could
not be so considered under the ruling
of the court The fine should have
been based on settlements between
the railroad and the oil company. Of
these there were just thirty-five. The
amount to but $4,000, and the mini
mum $50, 900.
In the event rehearing is denied
the government may go to trial on the
original indictment containing 1852
counts-an action which District At
torney Sims could be ready to take
within two weeks-or upon any one of
seven other indictments containing
4,422 counts. AS vast amount of
work has been done on the case just
decided, it is unlikely that an entirely
new case will be instituted. The rec
ord of the present case contains over
a million and half words, and is esti-
mated to have cost the government
100000
Another move which may be made
by the federal authorities is to trans
fer the prosecution from this jurisdic-
either to the western New York dis
trict or the eastern Tennessee dis
trict. In these two districts the gov
eminent investigation led to indict-
ments containing about 1000 counts
against the Standard Oil company.