The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-01-03

| These disclosures also added interest
| to the governments suit to dissolve the
| Standard Oil on the ground that 1t is a
| monopoly. John d. Rockefeller, its CHER
| mentor, took the stand in New York in
| November voluntarily and told how he
| built up the corporation from $1,000 to
| $3.50 900 600 concern mostly on borrowed
money He was forced to confess that
the Standard profited hugely by taking
| rebates and forcing rivals TO pay terminal
| charges and other fees because of mo-
| nopolistic privileges possessed by the
| Standard Meantime the famous $29 00t
| fine imposed by Judge Lands upon the
| Standard Oil company of Indiana was
| upset by the decisions OF two higher
! courts, the case now having been brought
before the United States supreme court
| AS a result of the governments war on
| the tobacco trust the vast corporation
| headed by J. B. Duke was declared file
| gal on November by the circuit court
| of New York Judge Coke in his opinion
| said that the trust in some of its branches
| controlled IS per cent of the tobacco bus
mess of the country.
| Popular feeling against the trust be-
| came so in1amed in the tobacco regions
| of Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mis-
| sissippi, Georgia and Alabama, where,
| despite the vast earnings of the monop-
| oily growers were beng paid less amt
| less for raw material, that in many places
! the farmers and their allies adopted Ku
| Klux methods to obtain higher prices.
| In the "Black Patch" district of western
Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee
| the whip, gun and torch were used so
frequently and wontonly that a veritable
reign of terror prevailed.
Farmers who would not join in hold
| ing back their tobacco, or sold to the
| trust before the time agreed upon by
| their neighbors, as well as lawyers, doc
| tors and business men who had any
! dealings whatever with the trust, were
visited by might riders" and either
brutally punished or murdered. Mean
| while tobacco prices Increased from 81
\ to SO and more a hundred and bank de-
| posts in the "BlaclS Patch were quad
rupled.
The atrocious murder on October 90,
| Of Capt. Quentin Rankin by night riding
| squatters, who were being prevented
| from fishing in Reelfoot Lake. in north
| western Tennessee. prompted Governor
| Patterson of Tennessee 10 propose that
! the governors of the six states threatened
by the night riders combine in checking
| their lawlessness. Governor Patterson
brought about the capture OF 90 prisoners,
| from some of whom confessions were OBJ
| tained showing how thoroughly the STAY
| ers of Rankin were organized.
|
For the purpose of developing the nat
ural resources of the country for the
general good of the public President
| Roosevelt called a conference in June of
| all the governors of states and territories,
each being also asked to invite three men
| from his state as additional members OF
| the congress. Such eminent private cit
| liens as w. j. Bryan, T. 7. Fill ana Johr
| Mitchell were present and addressed the
| gathering. Particular attention was
called by many speakers TO the necessity
| of preserving the forests. as we'll as the
| supplies of ores, coal and natural gas.
| against private usurpaton and waste.
| Irrigation, swamp drainage, as well as
| the protection and Improvement of riv-
| ers for navigation and water power were
| also advocated as absolutely essential to
| the proper commercial development of
| the country, and the governors affected
| a permanent organization whose object
| Is to further conservation of our natural
resources second meeting of the gov
| errors was held in Washington begin
| ming December and was presided over by
| President-elect Taft
| The first session of the Sixtieth Con-
| gress adjourned on May 80. Besides the
emergency currency bill. it enacted sew
| eral important statutes 1t made tho
militia an integral part of the national
military establishment; authorized the
| construction of two battleships of the
| Dreadnought type, each of which Is to
| cost $6,000000; reorganized the Consular
service and modified the customs law;
enacted new employers liability law
as a substitute for the one declared ur-
| constitutional by the supreme court APP
| propriated 500 227, 900 for the Panama
| canal, and RENTED $10,S00,000 of the in
| demnity from China resulting from the
Boxer insyrrection.
| So far the second session of Congress
| has resulted in no very important legis-
| lation. For several weeks prior to the
converting of Congress the ways and
means committee held public hearings
on the tariff. Arguments both for the
raising and lowering of rates on various
commodities were made, but from these
hearings the country generally has gath