The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-11-20
Standard Oil Company Is Today
Declared Illegal
And Ordered Dissolved by u. ).
Circuit Court.
OPINION BY SANBORN
Is COncurred in by Colleagues on
the Bench.
Reasons for the Decision Are
Clearly Set Forth.
UTMOST IMPOSED"
"It Is One of the Most ImpOr-
tant Decisions
Ever Rendered" Says Attorney
General Wickersham.
"It Is One of the Most ImpOr'
tant Decisions
Ever Rendered" Says Attorney
General Wickersham.

St. Paul. Nov. 20.-The government
wins its suit against the Standard Oh
company. The United States circuit
court today ordered the corporation to
be dissolved as being Illegal.
This case was heard in the United
States circuit court at st. Louis in
April last by Circuit Judges Sanborn,
of ST. Paul; Vandeventer, of Cheyenne,
Hook of Leavenworth. and Adams, Of
st. Louis.
Judge Sanborn, the presiding judge,
wrote the opinion and the decree, in
which all the judges concur, and sent
them to Judge Adams of st. Louis, who
filed them and entered the decree in
that city this morning.
The case was argued by Frank E
Kellogg of St. Paul and Charles B. Nor
rison of Chicago. for the United States.
and John G. Milburn of Buffalo, David
T. Watson of Pittsburg, Moritz Rosen-
thai of Chicago and John G. Johnson
of Philadelphia, on behalf of the de-
PENDANTS.
1t was brought to enjoin John D.
Rockefeller. William Rockefeller. Hen
ry NJ. Flag1er, Henry H. Rogers, John
d Archbold, Oliver H. Payne, Charles
NJ. Pratt, the Standard Oil company OF
New Jersey and about 20 other cor
porations, from main ntaining combi
nation and conspiracy in restraint OF
trade, to monopolize interstate and in
ternational commerce and the decree
grants the injunction sought by the
government.
The case is one of the most notable
in the history of the national govern
meut on account of the important in
dustrial and legal questions and the
Vast financial interests it involves. The
evidence filed 21 volumes and occupied
more than 10000 printed pages and the
arguments of counsel more than 800
printed pages.
Judge Sanborn's Opinion.
The nature of the case and the char
acter of the decision appear from the
syllabus of Judge Sanborn's opinion,
which reads:
Congress has power under the COM
mercial clause of the constitution to
regulate and restrict the use in COM
with foreign nations of contracts, of the
method of holding title to property and
of every other instrumentality employ
ed in that commerce so far as it may
be necessar.. to do SO in order to pre-
vent the restraint thereof denounced by
the antitrust act of July 2, $780, 26
Stat. 209.
TEST of the legality of a COM
bination under this act is its necessary
effect upon competition in commerce
tions.
"If it's necessary effect is only in
ctdentally or indirectly to restrict that
competition while its chief result is to
foster the trade and increase the busi-
ness of those who make and operate
it, it does not violate that law.
But if its necessary effect is to
stifle or directly and substantially to
restrict free competition in commerce
among the states or with foreign ma
l.
of that statute.
THE power to restrict competition
in commerce among the several states
or with foreign nations, vested in
person or an association of persons by
a combination. is indicative of the
It is to the interest of the parties that
such a power should be exercised and
the presumption is that it will be.
1t Is Illegal.
1.-THE combination in single cor
poration or person, by an exchange of
stock, of the power of many stock
holders holding the same proportions,
stock of each several corporations en-
gagged in commerce in the same
articles among the states or with for
eign nations, to restrict competition
therein, renders the power thus vested
in the former, greater, more easily
exercised, more durable and more
effective than that previously held by
the stockholders and it is illegal
"In 1899. the stockholders of the
Standard Oil company of New Jersey
owned a majority of the stock of 10
other corporations in the same pro-
portions that they owned the stock of
the standard company and those 20
corporations controlled. by the owner
ship of the majority of their stock, or
otherwise, many other corporations.
Each OF these corporations was en-
gagged in some part of the business of
producing, buying. refining, transport
ing and selling petroleum and its prod
nets and they were conducting about
30 per cent of the production of the
crude oil and more than rs per cent of
the bus iness of purchasing. refining.
Transporting anG selling petroleum and
it's products in this country.
MANY of them were engaged in COM
nerce in these articles among the sew
eral states and with foreign nations,
and were aturally competitive.
Eliminated Competition.
During the ten years prior to 1879,
The seven individual defendants had ac-
ouired control of many CORPORATIONS,
PARTNERSHIPS and refineries that had
heen conn citing in this business, had
placed the majority of the stock of
those corporations and the interests in
property ard business thus obtained in
Various trusts to be held and operated
bv them for the stockholders of the
standard Oil company of Ohio, one of
the 10 companies in which the indi-
vidual defendants were principal stock