The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-04-05
Government Files Its Suit Agai, Stand
ard Oil Co., at st. Louis In
Three Large Printed
Briefs,
ANTITRUST Law IS UP LOSS WILL BE $4,000
Potency Of the Measure TO Restrict
Combinations and Monopolles
Made Manifest In Gov
eminent Brief

ST. LOUIS, April 5-Pointing out
graphically the shocking abuses which
1t alleges has been proved by the testi-
mony, the government suit against the
Standard Oil Company was filed 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 it cannot but result In
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 1t 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 il the Sherman act
means anything to this country. 1t
means monopoly acquired by such
methods of competition as practiced
by this concern"
The government hints at confisca-
ton as to the Standards products. IL
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Sherman act would be repealed or 1t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-
mony is valuable as showing the in
IGNITION of the Standard to monopolze
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
competition, competitors usually are
strictly under control of the Standard,
they must sell oil at practically the
price the Standard dictates. Ii we are
looking at 2 degree of suppression OF
competition no combination of modern
times in that respect approaches that
of the Standard in all it's forms. If
we are looking to evidence of the OBJ.
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 500
pages each. Volume one Is composed
largely OF the history of the Standard
from the beginning to the present
time.
According to the brief the Standard
Is the Mother of Trusts 1t alleges
that the Standard was the first great
Industrial combination organized.
that 1t was conceived by John d. Rock.
efeller and his counsel in order to
avoid Illegally of combining all var
that it was followed "as is always the
case in attempts to evade the law. by
other combinations of like forms.
namely the sugar trust, the whiskey
trust, and the paint and lead trust
| The brief declares that the testi-
mony in this case shows that various
defendants of this case pursued un.
fair competition against their COM
4 petitors whereby independent con.
Germs were either driven out of bust
| ness or their business ruined so that
/ the Standard practically controlled
! the prices and monopolies of com
merce in products of petroler-l of the
United States"
The condition of the Standard today
the brief says, has substantially So
per cent of the business of purchasin:
crude oil in the fields and in many
places and many fields monopoly; In
the same proportion in transporting oil
to the refinery, manufacturing the
same into various products of com
merce.''
Referring to the defense of the
Standard that IT did not know it wa:
accepting a special rate from the
Chicago & Alton and other roads a.
in the Twenty-Five million prosecution
the brief says:
1T cannot be possible that ship