Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-04-05
Grounds on Which Disso.
luton Of Corporation
is Demanded.
ARE FULLY SET FORTH
Manner in Which Competition
Has Been Crushed Stated
in Missouri Court.

ST. Louis, April 5.-At 10 this morn
ing Special Assistant to United States
Attorney Frank b. Kellogg filed his
brief of 1,400 printed pages with the
clerk of the United States circuit
court, and a few moments later COM
menced his argument after two years
of evidence taking in the governments
suit to dissolve the Standard Oil cor
poration of New Jersey for alleged vio-
lations of the Sherman act. The argu-
ment is heard by the full circuit court
bench.
Resume of Brief.
st. Louis, April 5.-The government
today filed in the circuit court of the
United States of the eastern division
of the eastern judicial district of Mis-
souri, its brief in the case of the
United States against the Standard Oil
company of New Jersey by which it
is sought to dissolve that corporation.
In this brief the history of the com.
pany from its inception to the present
time is reviewed, and the declaration
is made that the testimony shows that
the various defendants have from the
first pursued a system of unfair com.
petition. whereby the independent con-.
panies selling and marketing petro-
leum have either been driven out Of
business or their business so r..
stricted that the Standard Oil company
has practically controlled the prices,
and monopolized the commerce in the
products of petroleum in the United
States.
Prices Not Uniform.
This system, it is contended, has
taken the form OF price cutting in var
ious localities, while keeping up high
prices or raising them still higher i'll
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, and
using their secret information to- pro
cure the countermanding of orders OF
Independent producers, and to facili
tate the price cutting policy; of the
use of so-called independent compan
les, that is, companies held out by the
Standard Oil company as Independent
which are engaged in price cutting
while the Standard Oil company main
tains the price through its well known
companies and other abusive competi
tive methods against the competitors
sells to Consumers.
The Standard Oil company, the brie
alleges, is particularly able to carry
on this predatory competition for the
reason that it does not sell its pro
duct at central markets or through or
binary channels. as most other ordi
nary manufacturers. 1t markets il.
products to the retailer in every vii
lage and community in the United
States, and it sells directly to th'
consumers. 1t does from S5\to 80 pc
cent of the business of the United
States, leaving about 10 to Is per cen
for all it's competitors.
1t is also held that the testimon,
taken in the Standard Oil prosecution
shows that that company through
company in which it owns majorit,
of the stock (the Galena Signal Oi
company also controls about 971a pc
cent of the fabrication of railroad
throughout the United States, and tha
it sells to most railroads at enormou
profits. This is evidenced by the ne
earnings of the company which i
f9OG were about 112 per cent on tn
capital stock actually paid in an
about 105 per cent on liberal va
uation of the capital used. 1t is ais