Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-03-08
Keynote Is Preservation of the
Fright OF Individual Citizens
OF the United States"
JUST NATURAL DEVELOPMENT.
Business Created Lawful and owners
Thereof Are Entitled 10 Con-
tinuc the Same.

Washington. March S.-Tho stand
ard oil" today filed In the supreme
court Of the United States its brief in
opposition to the attempt Of the gov
eminent 90 dissolve It as violating the
sherman antitrust law. This comes
as "a prelude 90 the oral argument OF
the case made by attorneys for the de-
Tense and FOR the government The
brief is the work OF u. r. Watson,
John NJ. Freeman and Ernest G.
Irwin. The brief Of the government
has not yet been filed.
The keynote Of the defense is the
so-called preservation Of the rights
Of individual citizens Of the United
States"
THE ISSUE.
The issue. according TO this brief,
e. the charge made IN the petition,
denied in the answer and reasserted
in the replication. that the seven in
dividual defendants. John ID. Rookie
Teller William r. Rockefeller. John
ID. Archbold. oliver Il. Payne, Henry
M Flaglcr, Charles NJ. Pratt and
Henry IA. Rogers, combined and con-
spired. and continued 10 combine ana
conspire at the time the petition was
filed. TO restrain interstate trade In oil
and to gain a monopoly Of IT,
The brief asserts that the circuit
court OF the United States for the
eastern district Of Missouri, whose
adverse decree the defendants seek
10 overturn. held that solely because
these individual joint owners or a
group Of non-competitive properties
engaged for 90 years In private trade
instead Of continuing TO hold through
trustees controlled by these defend
ants. changed I'm 1899 as the brlet
saws. the method Of holding their
properties by conveying them TO the
standard oil company Of New Jersey,
and that such change was violation
Of the sherman antitrust act
DECREE COMPLAINED OF
This decree is complained Of as
being unjust to the men who, accord
inc m me brief. were lawful
group. lawfully doing business and
vino after what Is described as a
mere conveyance and solely by reason
thereof became a group OF laWleas
conspiratOrs" II is charged.
THE claim that the seven individuals
are engaged In lawful business Is en-
phasized.
'aThe STANDARD oil business as 1t ex-
listed In 1906 and still exists. says the
brief "was the natural development
and outgrowth Of the business begun
in 1862 and steadily pursued by the
Rockefellcrs and others
"By untlring energy with INFINITE
skin. with abundant capital and tho
steady reinvestment Of earlier prohts.
these men and their associates created
ont of AN entirely new, unique ana un-
prercdcnted production OF crude oil,
new. universally used and cheapest H.
mmlnant the world has known. by
creative skill they secured from refuse
oil valuable by-products. They invent
ed the huge reservoirs for storing OIL
the combined pipe line system which
gathers up and carries the natural
products-the tank cars which carry
the refined products.
They created the export trade an
oil. transporting Il in ships OF their
own construction and selling II In Asa,
India. China. Japan, Russia and all
Europe. They devised the trading
stations-the tank delivery wagons
and used every means 20 cheaper the
product and improve the quality.
From 1862 To 1906 IA years-thc
work went on They took the risk OF
the failure in production. OF destruction
by fire and tempest. besides all thl
ordinary risks OF trade. They met all
emergencies with competent skill and
sufficient funds. The unexpected
enormous increase In production great
~ Increased their business, added Ia
it's Importance and profit.
REASONS FOR METHODS.
"Their methods OF holding their joint
properties and the management OF thcm
were dictated by economic reasons.
They used the best and cheape 81
methods I'm the holding OF titles and In
the transportation, production, refining
and sale Of oil. and they sought 10 and
always did produce the best and cheap
est product
"They competed with the same en-.
ergy and skill they built up.
"They succeeded, as II one had de-
veIoped Unexpectedly a gold or ala
mond mine, and abundant revenue
legitimately became theirs.
'eThelr business thus created, was a
lawful one and the owners thereof were
and are lawfully entitled TO continue
Tho same. and if In 1906 when the petit
ton was filed they were not restricting
Interstate trade or by unlawful means
seeking a monopoly (Which II was noO
the court should not have iuterfescd
with IT,"