The San Francisco call., 1909-04-06
TAFT QUOTED AS
LEGAL AUTHORITY
Decision Rendered by President
When on Bench Used in
Standard Oil Fight

ST. LOUIS. April 5.-For the first
time in American courts president of
the United States was quoted as a legal
authority today during special United
States Attorney Frank B. Kellogg's ar
gument in the governments case to
dissolve the Standard oil company of
New Jersey as violator of the Sher-
man act. Kellogg read at length from
a decision rendered by President Taft
in the Addyston pipe cases when a
Judge in Cincinnati. The issue in
volved was an alleged restraint of
trade.
Kellogg will conclude his remarks at
noon tomorrow. AS one OF the four
Judges of the federal circuit court
hearing the case will leave st. Louis
Saturday, Kellogg will insist upon the
defense completing it's argument by
Friday evening. This would leave
John G. Milburn of New York. Moritz
Rosenthal of Chicago, John c. Johnson
of Philadelphia and David c. Watson
of Pittsburg but two and a half hours
each. This the defense viii bitterly
oppose.
REVIEW OF EVIDENCE
Kellogg commenced with a rather
full review of the evidence taken by
the government before discussing the
law applicable to his case.
To tell more clearly the story of Stand
ard oil, the special attorney general d.
vided the alleged conspiracy into three
periods-the first from 1870 to 1882
when IT was. he said, a simple combi-
nation acting in harmony with its
stock interests, pooled in the hands ol
three trustees. From 1882, continued
Kellogg, to 1899, the defendants in this
action were in the form OF a trust con-
trolled by the trustees. This trust, de-
clared illegal by the Ohio courts, was
liquidated, and from 1899 to the present
time, said Kellogg, concluding that
portion of his narrative. has taken the
form OF a holding corporation, the
Standard oil company Of New Jersey
controlling subsidiary corporations in
alleged restraint of trade and other
wise.
Kellogg then proceeded TO retrace his
steps and went into the history Of the
first period, from 1870 to 1882, witt
great care and descriptive detail.
The brief reviews the history of the
company and declares the testimony
shows that the various defendants have
pursued a system of unfair competition
whereby the independent companies
selling and marketing petroleum have
either been driven out of business oi
so restricted that the Standard has
practically controlled the prices and
monopolized commerce in petroleum
products.
METHODS OF OCTOPUS
This system, it is contended, has
taken the form of price cutting in va
rious localities, while keeping up high
/ prices or raising them still higher in
other localities where no competition
exists; of paying rebates to customers
as a part of their system of price cut,
ting; of obtaining secret information
as to competitive business. largely
through bribing railway employees, anc
using their secret Information to pro-
cure the countermanding of orders o.
independent producers. and to facilitat,
the price cutting policy; of the use o.
companies held out by the Standard a:
Independent, which are engaged IL
/ price cutting. while the Standard main
tains the price through its well known
companies, and other abusive compel
itive methods against the competitors