The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-06-16
HOW IT IS DONE.
Setting the Screws" Process by
the Standard Explained.
BySimple Manipulation of Prices
Independents Punished.
ALWAYS GOT RESULTS
Interlopers Never Able to Stand
the Pressure.
GOT RESULTS
Senator Ganse's Good Points for
the Harvester Trust,

Inc feature or the Standard Oil Gus
ter suit for which testimony is being
taken before a special commissioner in
Topeka this week, was developed today
when witnesses testified as to Standard
methods of putting the independents out
of business. 1t is the old, old story,
unadorned by any trimmings or extern
uatfng circumstances. When an indie
pendent refinery was started and began
to do a Furnishing business the big oil
company calmly cut the price of re-
fined oil a cent and raised the price
paid for the crude article. This hy-
draulic process, generally called .sset-
ting the screws" always got results.
The Kansas refineries bowed to the
inevitable and there was soon plenty
of jobs for men who had talent in
the line of handling receiverships.
There Is no ease on record SO far in
the taking of this testimony where the
Standard did not fail to quickly read
just the prices to their former basis as
soon as the independent had succumbed
In making his findings of fact in the
International Harvester company GUS
ter suit last week, Special Commission
er III. E. Ganse followed to a certain
extent the provisions of the law passed
at the last session of the legislature
whereby the old law was repealed and
the new section provided a degree of
punishment for a bad corporation with
out resorting to absolute custer from
the state. Commissioner Ganse rec
commended that the Internationa, be
disciplined and be made to be good and
this is the new law upon which ne
based his recommendation:
The first half of the section of the
old law was not touched but the sec
ond section was repealed and the new
law reads as follows: Provided also
that If the dissolution of any such cor
poration is not considered by the court
to be either necessary or advisable and
that the corporate abuses can be cor
rected without dissolution, receivers
may be appointed to manage the cor
porate property and business under
the supervision of the court until fully
corrected, after which the corporate
management and property may be re-
turned to the owners and managers
thereof; and the court may remove any
officers responsible for the abuse and
mismanagement of the corporate pro-
perty and business and may order the
calling of an election of the stock
holders to fill such vacancies
Commissioner Ganse, in his exhaus-
tive researches into this case, found
the following good points in the con-
duct of the big harvester company:
"Since 1906 the defendant has tried
by argument and persuasion to pre-
vent local dealers handling its goods
from nandHnS competitive SO0uS, ana
in a few instances has threatened to
take away it's goods from local dealers
who insisted on handling competitive
goods, and in one or two instances,
according to the evidence introduced,
has done so.
Prior to the time the defendant
commenced doing business in Kansas,
both the farmer and retail dealer Of
ten experienced difficulty in obtaining
machines and repairs during a busy
harvest season. None of the compan-
les doing business in Kansas prior to
1902 had general agents at Coneordia,
Hutchinson or Parsons. They were
forced to send to Kansas City. Wichita
OF Topeka for repairs
1.-THE defendant is the only company
doing a farm implement business In
Kansas, that adopts the system de-
seribed. To get repairs from other con-
Germs, the dealer must send to Kansas
City, Mo. This often involves a delay
from which damage to the crops re-
suit.
1.-THE evidence is conclusive that the
facilities offered to implement dealers
and farmers, by means of the general
agencies or transfer houses, and the
liberal credit given to local dealers, are
far superior to the methods in force
by the companies doing business in
this state prior to 1902