Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-01
WATERING STANDARD OIL
John D. Archbold Tells How Process
Was Achieved in Big Corporation.
REASON FOR FORMING TRUST
lie Asserts that IL Was Done as
simple and Effective Form
of Holding the
Property.
REASON FOR FORMING TRUST

NEW YORK, Nov. SO.-Resuming his tes-
timony today in the governments suit
to dissolve the Standard Oil company. John
ID. Archbod, vice president of the com
pany, told Of the trust agreement Of 1882
and said that all the shareholders OF the
Standard and the beneficiaries of the Villas,
keith and Chester agreement signed the
agreement. Mr.. Archbold said that twenty
trust certificates were issued for eacn
single share of Standard Oil company stock.
The capital stock Of the Standard was
$3,5OO,OOO," said Mr. Archbold but the
plants and property were valued at S7O,OO0.-
0OO
Mr. Archbod described In detail the in
ventory Of the Standards plants. property
and all assets at the time of the agreement.
All plants, generally speaking, after 1875,
said Mr.. Archbold, were acquired for cash.
He then gave the reason for the formation
Of the Standard Oil trust, saying;
1T was done a simple and effective
form Of holding the property We were ad-
vised by counsel that neither the Standard
Oil company Of Ohio nor any other cor
porat could effectually or safely, per-
haps, hold the property, which was wide
spread in many states whose laws were
The trusteeship was suggested as a simple
method Of bringing together the properly
and form a token Of ownership which
would have a market value and enable the
owners to have more effective adminls-
tration"
Properties I'm the Trust.
Mr. Archbold testified that the Acme OH
company of Pennsylvania was organized to
take over the properties of the Acme oil COM
plny of New York. The Pennsylvania COM
pany was later llquidated when the plants
in Titusville were destroyed by fire The
vice president of the Standard told in detail
the organization and purpose of many sub
sidiary companies, which were parties TO
the 1888 agreement, and of the subsequent
disposition of these plants
The various properties of the Standard
Oil company OF Ohio that were turned into
the trust were enumerated by Mr.. Arch
bold Other minor companies, whose stock
was controlled by Standard interests and
were parties to the agreement of 1882, were
described by Mr.. Archbold. Recess was
then taken
Mr.. Archhold said that the trustees Of
the Standard OIL trust after its organiza-
tlon formed the Standard Oil companies
of New York and New Jersey to hold
properties which had previously been held
by Standard interests. The witness said
the Standard company of New York and
New Jersey were still the same companies
as those formed in 1882. The capital stock
of the Standard OIL company of New
Jersey was sS,OOo,0O0 in iSSg but Increased
in 1892 to S10,OOO,OOO and in 1893 to sl10OOO,-
600 of which 100000 was preferred.
The vice president of the Standard said
that be Of ha
organized and developed many companies
with money obtained from the trust. Some
of the companies mentioned were the Solar
Refining company, the Standard Oil COM
panies of Kansas and Indiana, ard the
Union Tank line.
Through the National Transit company
the Standard interests constructed the
Buckeye, Cumberland and other pipe line
companies Statements showing the com
panies owned and controlled by the Stand
ard in 1899 were submitted in evidence.
Standard Has Competition.
Mr. Archbold said the Standard met
with competition in the oil markets in
the world and submitted in evidence
statement showing the names of competi-
tors outside the United States. There were
400 companies competing with the Standard
for the worlds market, said Mr. Archbold
and of these the capital of 253 companies
was not known. The total capitalization
of 147 foreign companies was $274,9l5,1S5
OF the total amount of Illuminating oil
refined in 1906 by the Standard, Mr. Arch
bold said that 63 per cent was sold abroad
and 81 per cent at home. Mr. Archbold told
of the difficulties in the Introduction of
refined oils abroad. There was much com
petition from oil interests of the Dutch
Indies, said Mr.. Archbold, and the task of
maintaining the business in the orient was
very difficult.
our state department has helped US
much" said Mr.. Archbold I'm fact, we
have been better treated with reference
to our foreign business than with our bust
ness at home"
There is hardly port Of the world, said
Mr.. Archbold, that the Standard Oh does
not reach with its products. He said that
the Standard was putting in every effort
| to reach the consumer direct in the orient
There are l2S independent competitive re-
! finers OF oil in the country, he declared.
An adjournment was taken until tomor-