Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1909-04-06

G. Johnson of Philadelphia.
st. Louis, April 5. The governments
today filed in the circuit court of the
United States for the eastern division
of the eastern judicial district of Mis-
souri,, It's brief in the case of tha
United States against the Standard
Oil company of New Jersey. by which
1t Is sought to dissolve that corpora
ton. In this brief the history OF the
company from its inception to tha
present time is reviewed, and the dec.
laration Is made that the testimony
shows that the various defendants
have from the first pursued system
of unfair competition against their
competitors, whereby the independent
companies selling and marketing PEE
troleum have either been driven out
Of business or their business SO re-
stricted that the Standard OH com.
pany has practically controlled the
prices, and monopolized the commerce
in the products Of petroleum In tha
United States. This system, 1t is con-
tended, has taken the form of price
cutting in various localities, while
keeping up high prices or raising them
still higher in other localities where
ino competition exists; of paying re,
bates to customers as a part Of their
system of price cutting; of obtaining
secret information as to competitive
business, largely through bribing rail-
way employees, and using their secret
| information to procure the counter.
manding of orders of independent
producers, and to facilitate the price
cutting policy; of the use Of the SO.
called independent companies, that is,
companies held out by the Standard
lOil company as independent. which
are engaged in price cutting. while
the Standard Oil company maintains
the price through it's well known com.
panies and other abusive competitive
methods against the competitors.
Oil Earnings are Shown.
The Standard Oil company, tta
brief alleges, is particularly able to
carry on this predatory competition
for the reason that it does not sell
it's products at central markets or
through ordinary channels, as most
other ordinary manufacturers. 1t mar
kets It's products to the retailer in
every village and community In the
United States, and 1t sells directly to
the consumers. 1t does from IS to 90
per centiof the business Of the United
States, leaving about 10 to Is per cent
for all its competitors. 1t is also held
that the testimony taken in the
Standard Oil prosecutions shows that
that company through a company in
which 1t owns majority of the stock
(the Galena Signal Oil Company also
controls about 9711s per cent of the lu.
brication Of railroads throughout the
United States and that 1t sells to most
railroads at enormous profits This is
evidenced by the net earnings of the
company, which in 1905 were about
,, 112 per cent on the capital stock ac.
tually paid in and about los per cent
on a liberal valuation of the capital
, used. 1t is also shown by the further
fact that tie prices to these railroads
are substantially double the prices
charged to few favored lines, notably
the Pennsylvania. For instance, the
brief says, the New York Central
railroad for ten years has paid about
100 er cent per gallon more than the
Pennsylvania. 1t is also stated that
: wherever the Standard can do so, II
has made contracts whereby 1t has
marketed part or all Of it's product
~ fcontinued en- page ~