Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-04-05
FEDERAL ATTACK
ON STANDARD OIL
GOVERNMENT BEGINS AReU>
MENTs IN ACTION TO DIS.
SOLVE CORPORATION.
SHERMAN ANTITRUST LAW
VIOLATION Is ALLEGED
Brief Filed by Government Shows That
Oil Has Advanced Under Practical
MonopoIy-Trust Controls Large
Percentage Of Railroads and Pipe
Lines-keIIoss Opens Case.


informing the special assistant to the
United States attorney general, Frank
y. kellogg, filed his brief Of 1,400
printed pages with the clerk Of the
United States circuit court, and a few
moments later commenced his argu-
pAnt, after two years of evidence TAX
ing, in the governments suit, to dis
solve the Standard Oil corporation of
New Jersey, for alleged violations of
the Sherman act. The argument is
heard by the full circuit court bench.
With Kellogg for the government
was Assistant Attorney General Nor
rison, who will argue certain phases
a half score of counsel present, in
Guiding it's principal attorneys, Mill
burn, Rosenthal, johnson and Wat
son. The importance of the case re-
suited In crowded court room when
the arguments commenced. With but
little by way Of preliminaries, Kellogg
commenced with a review of the evil
dence taken by the government. Be-
fore discussing the law applicable to
the case he told Of the combination
effected by John D. Rockefeller, Will
liam Rockefeller and Henry M. Flag
Ter in 1879, conceived, he declared, to
effect monopoly of the petroleum
trade, both domestic and export. 1t
was at that moment, according to Kel-
iogg, that the alleged illegal conspir-
acy to monopolize the oil trade was
conceived. Later, he said, Henry H
Rogers, John D. Archbold, oliver H
Payne and Charles M. Pratt We're TAX
en- into the conspiracy by the other
defendants.
Growth Of the Octopus.
To tell more clearly the story OF
Standard Oil, Kellogg divided the al
legged conspiracy into three periods
arst, from 1870 to 1882, when it was
he said, q simple combination, acting
In harmony with its stock interests
pooled in the hands OF three trustees
From 1882 to 1899, he declared, de-
eendants interests were in the form OF
a trust controlled by nine trustees
This trust, declared illegal by the Ohio
courts, was liquidated and from 1898
to the present time has taken the form
of holding corporation, the STANDARD
Oil Company Of New Jersey, controll-
Ing subsidiary corporations in alleged
restraint of trade and otherwise.
Alliance With Railroads.
Kellogg charged that in the formation
Of the original Standard Oil Company
of Ohio, men controlling the principa
railways of the country necessary tc
the conduct of Oil business, were taker
In as stockholders. Thru this, he
claimed, rebates averaging SO per cen'
were secured and all of the then in
dependent refiners were forced into the
Standard Oil trust" that thru this
advantage defendants exercised contro
they had secured and continued to dc
30 to the present day. Kellogg ther
explained in detail the formation o1
the Standard Oil trust" of Ohio, thru
the acquisition of thirty other oil con-
Germs, control in these companies was
purchased by means Of the exchange
of Standard Oil stock, he said. Incl.
dental to the acquisition of the Brook
lyn firm of Pratt & Co., H. H. Rogers
came into the Standard, stated the fed.
eral lawyer. "This original trust agree
ment was never made public in many
of the Standard Oil Investigations thru.
out this country until the exigencies O.
this case forced the Rockefellers to pro-
duce it in justification of that agree.
ment," said Kellogg with marked EN-.
phasis.