The Topeka state journal., 1909-03-10
IT HAD NO CASE.
Judge Anderson in Ending the
Standard Prosecution
Declares the Government Did
Not Prove Anything.
JURY HAD NO CHOICE.
Told Them if They Returned
Verdict of Guilty
He Would Instantly Set Their
Finding Aside.

tended had been superseded by a later
classification. Judge Anderson ex-
planned his position to the Jury and
announced that if the case was to go
to the jury and a verdict was returned
he could do nothing but set aside the
verdict.
''There is absolutely nothing on
which conviction in this case could
stand before any court in this jury
the court said in concluding his
charge to the jurors.
''The government has failed to
prove its contention that the Is cent
rate was the lawful rate between
Whiting and East st. Louis and that
the defendant had wilfully accepted
lower rate and there is nothing to do
but for the jury to find a verdict of
not guilty"
Charge to the Jury.
Judge Anderson's charge to the jury
was:
Gentlemen of the jury: 1 have
made up my mind to end this case.
You, as jurors, have a perfunctory Of
flee to perform, and the evidence you
have heard as presented by the gov
ernment may have given you some
opinion of your own as to how this
case should be decided. You have
no arbitrary power. Neither have /,
as a federal judge, any such power.
I am bound by the law as you are.
''When the United States court of
appeals lays down the law, we are
bound by our oaths to obey this law.
"The Standard Oil company has
been indicted and the government
AYERS in it's indictment that a rate of
IS cents per 100 pounds on shipments
of oil was fixed standard and that
regardless of this the Chicago &
Alton railroad gave the de
PENDANTS concessions allowing the
oil company to ship oil over its road,
at a rate of six cents. The govern
ment failed to prove this charge.
THE Standard Oil company is charg-
ed with criminal offense and therefore
before a jury can find the defendant
guilty, it must be satisfied beyond all
reasonable doubt that there was
definitely fixed rate of Is cents.
THE proof offered by the evidence
does not support the charges relative
to the Chappelle, Ind, shipments. Con-
sequently the defendant can not be
found guilty on charges that embrace
shipments from that point to st. Louis.
Proof of publication has not been
made with reference to the alleged IL
legal shipments of oil from Whiting,
Ind, and consequently the defendant
can not be held on charges of accept
ing rebates on shipments from that
place.
Altogether. I feel that the govern
ment has failed to sustain the allega-
tions in the indictment against the
Standard Oil company. Should this jury
find the defendant guilty 1 would set
aside such verdict instantly as 1 know
the United States court of appeals
would"
The Verdict.
The foreman of the jury then signed
I'VE, the jury find the defendant not
guilty"
United States District Attorney Sims
admitted that he was greatly disap
pointed at the outcome of the case.
LAS to further prosecution of the
Standard Oil company, he said. Il will
have conferred with the attorney general
at Washington. We made the best fight
the court ruled against it,
Moritz Rosenthal, counsel for the
'SThe verdict is intensely satisfactory
was never fixed by the Chicago & Alton
railroad. 1t shows further that no legal
rate was in existence at the time the
Standard Oil company. Therefore, the
Standard Oil company committed no legal
or moral wrong IN accepting six cent
rate.
Morally as well as legally it is found
not guilty and that is the most satisfac-
tory verdict that have been returned
A throng of newspaper men crowded
around Judge Anderson when he left the
court room at the conclusion of the trial
I suppose the newspapers will reverse
make further than what I have already
said in open court
Skctcn OIL JUQSG Anderson.
Judge A. B. Anderson who pre-
Standard Oil case was born in Zions-
vile, Ind, February 10, 1857. He was
graduated from Wabash college in
! 1879 and then studied law at Craw-
fordsviIle and Indianapolis He was
admitted to the bar in 1881, and be-
gan the practice of law at Crawfords-
vile.
He was prosecuting attorney for
Montgomery Co. Ind, for three years,
and since December Is, 1902, has been
United States district Judge for the dis
trict of Indiana. His home is in In
dianapolis.
Another famous case at which
Judge Anderson presided was that
against John R. Walsh, former presi-
dent of the Chicago National bank,
who was found guilty of misapplying
the funds of the bank and who was
sentenced to serve five years term
in prison at Fort Leavenworth. Kan.
Wa1sh's case is now pending in the
court of appeals.
Government VIII Appeal.
Washington, March 10.-The under
standing here is that an appeal will lie
from Judge Anderson's court to the
circuit court of appeals. Also an ap-
peal would lie from the circuit court
of appeals to the supreme court of the
United States in the event that the de-
cision in the former tribunal should be
against the company
In fact there is the best reason for
stating that the whole issue will come
before the supreme court of the United
States very soon through an unexpect-
ed and novel move by the department
of justice.
The decision of Judge Anderson was
read with the closest interest by the
officials of the department of justice.