The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1910-03-12
OCTOPUS IN 4.
Fight FOR LIFE
Continued From Page One.

for. them the price of crude oil, tn,
! rates for transportation and the sci.
ling price of fits products. . 81.
| That the par value Of the combined
capital stock in 1899 was about 800,
100000, and that in 1903 it was $3.50.
That twelve Of these companies
| owned 54,565 miles of pipe lines.
That six of these companies had
3,574 selling stations throughout the
United States. ,.. 49,
That these companies from 1899 &c
1907 produced more than one-tenth Of
| the crude oil obtained in this country
That they owned aid operated more
than one-h half Of all the tank cars used
to distribute it's products.
That they manufactured more than
three-fourths of all the crude oil re-
fined in the United States. . 30.
That they transported more. than
four fifths of the petroleum derived
from the Pennsylvania and Indiana oil
fields.
That they marketed more than four
fifths of all the Illuminating oil sold
in the United States.
That they exported more than four
flfths of all the Illuminating oil sent
forth from the United States.
That they sold more than four-fifth
of all the naphtha sold in the United
States.
That they sold more than nine
tenths Of all the lubricatirg oil sold ia
railroad companies in the United
States.
Circuit Court Decree. ..
On this finding the court decreed:
That the organization of 1899 was a
combination or conspiracy in restraint
Of interstate commerce in petroleum
and its products such as the first Sec
ton of the Sherman antitrust act de-
clares is illegal; that the seven :ndi-
vidual defendants, the Standard Oil
Co. of New Jersey and thirty-nine 9th
er companies had entered into q. COM
bination or conspiracy to monopolize
and had in fact monopolized a. sub
stantial part Of interstate commerce
in violation of the second section OF
the Sherman antitrust act: that thir-
ty-three other companies accused were
proven not to be in this combination
The court enjoined the principal
and its directors from exercising any
control over the subsidiary companies:
1t enjoined the subsidiary companiee
from declaring or paying any dividends
to the principal company, but not from
distributing ratably to the sharehoId-
ers Of the principal company the stock
or the subsidiary company; 1t en1oin-
ed those found to be in the illegal
combination" from continuing in IL OF
forming new combination by means
Of aggregation of the physical proper
ties in the hands of one member Of the
combination, and forbade those In the
combination from engaging in inter
state commerce until the combination
was discontinued.
| Keen Legal Talent.
/ The counsel arrayed in defense q;
the Standard Oil includes John G.
Milburn, of Buffalo, N. Y. in whose
| home Mckinley died; d. T. Watson
and John O. johnson. leaders of the
| PENNSYLVANIA bar; and Moritz Rosen
thai, the legal pillar of The Standard
| OIL interests. OF these johnson made
the principal argument to the supreme
court in the defense In the tobacco
cases. The defense has argued that
the corporations, which entered into
the organization of 1899, had not been
competitors since 1879; that the stock.
holders OF the. principal company were
the Joint owners of the stock Of the
subsidiary companies and had the right
to convey their stock In the latter ia
the former in trust for themselves, and
congress was without power to re-
strict their acquisition, their method OF
holding or their disposition /. their
title to their property or their use oil
1t: that the corporations whose stock
were invested In the Standard Oil Co
of New Jersey are private corporations
and not charged with a public duty
as were the railroads in the Northern
Securities case; and that if any re-
straint of trade resulted from the or
ganization in 1899 1t was neither direct
immediate nor substantial.
Attorney General Wickersham prob
ably will make the principal argument
to the court In favor OF the dissolu-
ton. Frank b. Kellogg, of Minnesota
and Charles B. Morrison, of Chicago
have been most active in the prepar
alton OF the case against the defend