The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-17
CHANGE OF BASE
 IN O|L HEARING
Testimony Is Concluded In
 Case In New Yerk
AGREEMENTS AND REBATES
Officials of Standard Oil Company Ad- init That the Company Controlled the So-CalIed lndepend-
 ent Companies.

New York, January 16.-With the testi- mony of William R. King. agent of the Standard Oil company in New York, the hearings in the governments suits to dis solve the Standard oil company were con- cluded so far as this city is concerned. {, The next session will be held in Washing ton on January 2s.
 At the afternoon session today testi- mony regarding alleged payment of re- bates on commissions by the Pennsylvania Railroad company to the Standard Oil company was brought out. The govern ment also sought to show by the testi- mony of Agent King that the Standard had made something of a practice of maintaining supposedly independent company in New England territory until such companies were well established, when they would be taken over by the Standard and their business absorbed.
 Examined after the recess, Jefferson Justus, assistant to the comptroller of the Pennsylvapa railroad. was called to confirm one of the exhibits in the case, contract between the Standard Oil com pany and the Pennsylvania railroad, by the terms of which the oil company was to be paid commissions of 10 per cent on all it's oil shipments. The contract pro- vded that no other shippers were to re- ceive commissions unless they made ship ments equal to the Standard. MT. Justus testified that no other company shipped as much oil as the Standard. letter from William Rockefeller, Jr., to Presi- dent Thomas Scott of the railroad, dated October IT, 1S77 having bearing on the contract in question, was produced by the witness.
 MT. Justus produced another contract between the Pennsylvania Railroad com pany and the National Transit company, alleged to be a concern in which the Standard was interested, drawn in 1884, and not cancelled, the witness stated, until 1905.
 MT. Justus said he remembered vaguely that in 1878 there was an agreement for the payment by the Pennsylvania of 20 cents barrel on oil shipments to the American Transfer company, of which Daniel ODea was manager
 William R. King, agent of the Standard Oil company in New York, said that since 1898 he has had charge of the sales of re- fined oil and naphtha in this city and the New England states. He admitted re- ceiving minute details of shipments and sales made by the competitors in this dis triot. He said he sold oil to the Now England Oil company occasionally.
 We sold oil in Boston,. he added, through the Eastern Oil and Gasoline Supply company, which sold direct to con- sumers."
 Mir King said that the Standard sold in Providence through the Household Sup ply company. but that the Standard took it over and was now running it. It also he testified. sold oil through the Mehlon Household Supply company and through Funke Bros. in Brooklyn.
 And these supply concerns were held out as independent sellers?'
 'I suppose so but they were registered in the county clerks office as being owned by the Standard Oil company
 Earlier in the day, c. c. Steinbrenner, auditor of the Galena Signal Oil company, testified that although he had been con- nected with the company for years, he did not know whether it's purchases were made from Standard Oil concerns. He said his company sold lubricatng oil to the Santa Fe and Rock Island railroads through the Waters-Pierce Oil company paying that company commissions because of the latter's prior contracts with these railroads.