New-York tribune., 1908-09-05
TESTIFY FOR STANDARD
Witnesses Deny Unfair Competition
an the South.

The ouestion of .unfair competition and dis
elimination" alleged in the governments complaint
| against the Standard Oil Company was taken up
again Yesterday before Franklin Ferris, referee'
in the new Custom House Building. The territory
considered comprised Illinois, Kentucky and one
other Southern states. Mr. Rosenthal/ /tor
the Standard. called his first witness Z. L:
Ceilings second vice president of the Standard oh
Company of Kentucky.
The witness denied that the Standard had placeu
wagons in the field, pretending they belonged to
independent enterprises TO keep control OF the
local trade. He said number of local pedlers
were found who not only asserted they were IN
dependent, but that they were supplying Oil OF
superior quality to that offered by The Standard
Young women he said were employed to visit the
housewives with this explanation and the STAND
ard employed ether young women to visit the
homes and demonstrate that the Standards prod
uct was equally as good that offered by the
competitors The Standards agents had even
found a general increase of price. he said' as
result alleged superiority of the Independent
product
Mr.. Ceilings denied that Standard OIL solicitors
had been ordered or even tacitly advised that
business could be obtained by cuts in price Mr.
Rosenthal asked if oil had been cut to as low as
eight cents in Atlanta in 1887 and later to SIX cents
to retain the business and Mr. Ceilings denled
that such reductions had been made lie saiu
the rebates of 50 and 20 per cent allowed by the
Central Oil Company TO its trade were at tna'
time general in the oil trade throughout the
country
In regard to the testimony in Washington of a
Mr. Wottons that he Wottons. had sold the Peoples
OH Company to the Standard and that the latter
had yum it as an Independent concern, Mr. Coliings
said Wottons had been instructed to run the Peo-
pies company to find out what its goodwin was
worth that price for it might be fixed lie con-
tradicted the testimony of Wottons that the Record
Oil Company had been owned and controlled by the
Standard. Other charges of unfair competition
discrimination and cuts in prices made by a number
of witnesses called in the suit in Washington were
taken I'D one by and emphatcally denied oy
Mr.. Ceilings
In his cross-exa nination of Mr. Caulley, formerly
Standard special agent in Alabama, Mr. Kellogg
for the government, asked the witness to produce
his correspondence with Ceilings during 1904 and
1905. Caulley refused, and Referee Ferris said he
was powerless to enforce such order. Mr.. kei-
logg then asked him If he knew that Secretary
Stein of the Standard Oil Company Of Kentucky
went to Vincennes, Ind, and there organized the
Nets Oil Company and operated it as an inde-
pendent concern, the name Nets, the federal lawyer
pointing out. being Stein reversed Mr. Cauley
said he knew of no SUCH company of any other
owned by the Standard and operated as an fnde-
pendent enterprise except the Alabama Oil Com
pany The reasons in the latter case, he said, he
did not know.
In the cross-examnation of Mr.. Ceilings the wit
ness asserted In regard the examination of wit
,esses in Washington recently that former en-
pIoye of the Standard had purloined some of the
companys papers. When H. c. Wottons took the
stand Mr Rosenthal began by asking him when he
stole the papers, The witness protested that IN the
South the meaning of the word steal was not
known Mr. Rosenthal rejoined that in the North
n was not known what the act itself meant. The
witness Immediately jumped to his feet and chal-
Ienged the lawyer to duel but the latter said he
was too busy and bloodshed was averted
The hearing will be resumed on Tuesday morning