The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1909-01-01
STANDARD OIL GUST ED
FROM MISSOURI.

The S ,preme Court OF Missouri
has issued decree ousting the Stand
ard Oil Company of Indiana, the
Republic Oil Company Of Ohio and
the Waters Pierce Oil Company of
Missouri from the State and fnlng
each of them $4,000. The
decision was unanimous. Its
effort sustained on appeal by
the Supreme Court of the
United States, will be to exclude the
business from Missouri. Their OF
fence was that they had ''combined"
to control the retail price OF oil If
Missouri, to prevent other dealers
from selling more than certain per
centage of the total consumed and TO
misIead the public into believing
thep were separate and distinct cor
poration pursuing an indepent bust
ness. If was not held, it seems, that
the price of oil, fixed by the COM
panies, was exec ssive, but that the
conpanies sought by joint action, by
espionage and by price-cutting to re.
tain from IS to IS per cent. OF the
oil business and limit their competi-
tors to Is per cent. Looking into
the future for the outcome of such a
state of things, the court foresees
that "these abuses, if permitted to
continue untrammeled" will revolu-
tionize the commonwealth. sit is
only a question of time" says the
Court, when they will sap the
strength and patriotism from the
very foundations of our Govern ment,
overturn the republic, destroy our
free institutions and substitute in
lieu thereof some other form of gov
eminent Nothing can be said in
criticism of the courts decision or in
extenuatIun of the crimes of the oil
companies. The Standard Oil Com
pany- the three companies in ques-
tion are subordinate to the Standard
Oil Company Of New jersey
has many sins to answer for.
A whack at it's alleged monopoly i
relished in every quarter. But from
a practical point of view, what
amelioration of conditions in the
Missouri oil business may the popu-
lar decision of the Missouri Supreme
Court be expected to bring about?
Will oil be cheaper in Missouri
when the local refining companies
find themselves without the competi-
ton of the three ousted companies?
Will the local companies form no
com bines, or reach no understand
ing,' or agreements, with respect to
the price of oil? 1t is to be feared
that sit is only question Of time"
when they, too, will be mapping out
territories securing "a living price"
and evading the spirit of the State
law while conforming to its letter.
The monopolistic instinct is, unhap-
PLY, hard to restrain within the linn
it's dictated by nice conscience and
the public interest. 1t is, however,
conceivable that the local and indie
pendent oil refners and dealers may
not, after all, enjoy, even for brief
interval, the freedom from close CON-
petition which the courts decision
seems to promise them. The three
offending companies may retire from
Missouri, but be replaced Immediate
ly by other dummies of the Standard
Oil Company of New Jersey under
other names and with no apparent
connection with the octopus. No.
26 Broadway is exceedingly willy,
and knows well hew to play DR..
Jekyll and Mr.. Hyde. The consumer
may not, in the end, is to be feared,
realize any practical benefit from
the courts valorous decision. 1t
may effect striking superficial
changes in the oil business of Mis-
souri, and vindicate the patriotism OF
prominent statesmen. but, after al
things will continue possibly very
much as before, with newly named
companies doing 50 per cent, of the
business and the price no lower, or
even, perhaps, the fraction Of a cent
higher, to pay the courts fines