The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-04-05
Government Files Its Suit Agat, Stand
ard Oil Co., at st. Louis In
Three Large Printed
Briefs.
ANTI TRUST LAW is UP
Potency Of the Measure to Restrict
Combinations and MonopoIies
Made Manifest In Gov
ernmcnt Brief.

graphically the shocking abuses which
Il alleges has been proved by the testl-
mony, the government suit against the
Standard Oil Company was fled today
In the United States circuit court
here. The document is almost entir-
ely the work of Frank b. Kellogg and
his assistant, j. H. Graves, who for the
past several years have been working
untiringly in the building up of the
case so strong that the department OF
Justice feels 1t cannot but result in a
triumphant victory for tie govern
ment. The oral arguments in the case
will begin Monday. That the potency
of the Sherman antitrust law hangs in
the balance is clearly made manifest In
summing up the facts in the dangerous
monopoly which it is alleged the
Standard maintains. The govern
ment's brief says:
There is no question If this court
holds the Standard to be legal organ
ization. and innocent of monopoly In
other words, 1t gives 1t carte blanche
to pursue it's own methodist can
eliminate every competitor within
two years. We do not wish to be un-
derstood discouraging enterprise. and
taking the position against legitimate
competition. but II the Sherman act
: freans anything to this country II
means monopoly acquired ty such
methods of competition as practiced
by this concern"
, The government hints at confsca-
tion as to the Standards products, II
the court is unable to grant the relief
demanded. 1t says. "Other remedies
have tried and have failed. Either the
Sherman act would be repealed or 1t
should be enforced in manner to
make the people respect it. This testi-
tention of the Standard to monopolize
throughout the United States In
many districts it has an absolute mon
opoly, that is in those districts it does
all the business and has eliminated
ever competitor Where there is any
Z competition, competitors usually are
strictly under control of the Standard
they must sell oil at practically the
price the Standard dictates Ii we are
d looking at 2 degree of suppression o.
competition no combination OF moderr
times in that respect approaches tha
of the Standard in all it's forms |
we are looking to ev0ence OF the op
preston and unfair dealing no combi
nation is equal in its obnoxious fea
ture. The brief is composed of three
:, large printed volumes of almost 50
pages each. Volume one is compose,
. from the beginning to the presen
time
, According to the brief the Standar,
- Is the Mother of Trusts" 1t allege
!, that the Standard was the first grea
{ Industrial combination organized
:, that it was conceived by John ID. Rock
efeller and his counsel in order t
: avoid illegality of combining all van
: ious concerns in the Standard In Obi
that it was followed '.as is always th
- case in attempts to evade the law. b
other combinations of like forms
namely the sugar trust, the WDlSke
:, trust. and the paint and lead trust
~ The brief declares that the test
mony in this case shows that variou
.. defendants of this case pursued III
e. fair competition against their con
u- petitors whereby independent COZ
'r' Germs were either driven out of bus
ness or their business ruined so Thu
the Standard practically controlle
ON the prices and monopolies OF cor
Sc. merce in products of petroler~l of IL
nd United States
ar, The condition of the Standard toda
RS. the brief says, has substantially
as per cent of the business of purchasir
he crude oil in the fields and in mar
ed places and many fields monopoly;
the same proportion in transporting {
wo to the refinery, manufacturing Il
in. same into various products of col
ed merce.''
ar. Referring to the defense of t
Standard that IT did not know it W
accepting special rate from t
Chicago & Alton and other roads
All in the twenty-nine million prosecute