The Washington times., 1910-03-14

10 incorporate, through Congress, the
Rockefeller Foundation. have kept him
continually before the public eye for the
past twenty-five years.
May Abolish Concern.
The trial Of the company VIII be lit
orally a fight for its life. II the Supreme
Court should decide against it the i'm
mense fabric, so skinhuly woven that
State after State has been unable to
cope with it, may be demolished at one
blow.
The litigation involves about thirty
seven distinct corporations, which the
standard OIL Company OF New Jersey
either owns outright, or in part. and
SIX tndividuals-JOhn D. Rockefeller,
William Rockefeller, Henry NJ. Flagler
John ID. ArchbOld, Oliver II. Payne, and
Charles NJ Pratt-the total Of whose
capital reaches into staggering millions
of dollars
The suit attacks the group Of cor
por1tions whose parent is the gigantic
Standard OH Company Of New Jersey,
capital, S1000 100000. as a monopoly and
cC;EbinatiOn in restraint OF commerce
and trade It IS brought under the
sherman antitrust law, which imposes
hne not 10 exceed 5000 upon each
corporation or individual comprising or
party to the trust, or with the alterna-
tive, in the case OF individuals, or a
the trust, is OF course mandatory.
Begun In Missouri.
It was in November, 1905 that the
Government filed in the circuit court
for the eastern district Of Missouri a
bin OF complaint in this case. II COW
cred 200 closely printed pages and recited
an amazing story OF high finance, mar
ket manipulation. price cutting. railroad
rebating and alleged violations Of the
law.
Three years later, on November %
1899, the court, after hearing the oratOry
OF some Of the best legal lights in the
country and receiving in evidence thou
sands upon thousands Of pages of print
ed testimony, gathered throughout the
country under a special commission.
rendered a decision sustaining prac-
tically every contention Of the Govern
ment and sounding the death-knell of
the trust An appeal was Immediately
perfected 10 the Supreme Court Of the
United States by the defendant COM
PRny. II was dOCketed early in the
present term, and set for hearing for
the week beginning today
Reads Like Fiction.
The monster brief fled by the Gov
ernment in the case Qt fills two vol
umes Of over 800 pages each recites a
history Of the combine, from its in
ception IN 1870. that reads like fiction.
II was IN 1870 that John D. Rockefeller,
William Rockefeller, and Henry N.
FlaEler conceived the purpose Of con-
trolling the petroleum trade and obtain
in- a monopoly.
The Government claims this was the
in 'epuon of gigantic conspiracy
Shortly after 1870 Henry r. Rogers
john D. ArchboId, oliver H Payne.
Charles NJ Pratt. and various other
persons Joined that community of in
teTests. Up TO 1852 the trust took
the form of a. combination between "A
large number Of manufacturers, who
acted IN harmony, and whose stock in
terests were pooled in the hands Of
three trustees
In 1852 there was signed a trust agree
rnent,' wnere nine trustees administered
the affairs OF a large number OF cor
pOrations. the men named above being
in q majority. From 1893 to the present
tims the COnSpiraCy as alleged by the
Government. has taken the form Of
holding corporatou-the Standard oil
Company of New Jersey. which con-
trOlS the principal corporations, partner
ships. and firms.
Earnings Are Enormous.
Sixty-nine million collars was all that
was ever invested in the Standard Oil
Company, except a portion Of the earn
ings. and yet, the Government brings
evidence that out Of this comparatively
small investment has grown dividends
aEgregatinC the stupendous toSal Of
S54S, ,446 in dividends from 1852 to 1896.
Not only this, but in 1906. according 70
admitted figures, the Standard Oil Com
pany had a surplus of S261 ,O61, ,s1l in
hand In 1905 the trust declared a divi-
Here are a few Of the iniquities which
OIL trust:
Refusal OF pipe lines controlled bv
Enem rNnV
cepI Independently manufactured oil
lteoatlng. secret rates. and other rail-
road Determinations as an aid TO the
monopoly.
MonoPOliaed all the oil business with
the railroads.
Destruction OF independent competition
ny price-cutting; by granting Of rebates
20 individual custonnerst operating bogus
Independent concerns; estabIisSing a
system Of espionage through the nation
whereby every detail of their cOmpeti-
torF business was made known TO them
Missouri Court Unanimous.
Ths unanimous decision Of the Mis-
souTi court was thet the Standard OIL
Company was a monopoly. It enioined
the holding company from voting stock
IT held In the subsidiary corporations.
or receiving dividends from them. It's
dissolution was ordered.
The trust appealed. alleging sixty
SIX errors. Briefly these We're that the
court erred in compelling nonresident
corporations and individuals 10 appear
az St Louis, in OVerTuling the plea of
the defendants that the court had no
Jurisdiction, and some others as TO the
acquisition Of the subsidiary corpor-
attOns
Some of the foremost attornevs IN
the nation appear in the suit, including
Attorney General Wickersharn. John G.
johnson, Of Philadelphiaj John G. Mil
burn. Of New York; Frank 3. Kellogg.
and possibly also D. T. Watson, OF
f1ttsbUrg. The Attorney Q eneral and
Attorney Kellogg will represent the
Government the latter having been as
sociated with the case since 1906.