New-York tribune., 1911-01-14
STANDARD OIL ARRAIGNEO
Frank B. Kellogg Begins Pres
entation Of Governments Case.
REPLIES TO J. G. MILBURN
Company Described as Corrupt
Oppressive and Menace to
the Country.


OF the United States 10 dissolve the Stand
erd oil Company OF New Jersey as in vio-
lation Of the Sherman antitrust law He
began 20 present the governments side or
the controversy. and will probably complete
e. Monday or Tuesday. Mr.. Kellogg spoke
for nearly four hours, following the closing
remarks Of John G. MiIburn, for the Stand
ard OIL.
Mr. Kellogg went over the early years OF
the Standards business. leading up TO the
central point Of the present controversy
the reorganization of the Standard Oh Com
rany Of New Jersey in 1899 He character
lied this reorganization as amounting mere
" TO the substitution OF one illegal form
OF holding the oil companies together for
another illegal form. The first was the
trust Of 1882 with fits several trustees.
and the second the standard Of New Jer-
ney"
When Mr.. Kellogg reached the trust
agreement Of 1882. whereby the stock Of the
owners OF various oil companies was put
into tho hands OF trustees. he was inter
rupted by Justice Holmes.
That sort Of agreement was quite COM
mon in New England" the Justice re-
marked
Il have no doubt Of that" Mr. Kellogg
replied. The trust agreement was copied
by the Sugar Trust, which was declared
Illegal in New York; by the Whiskey Trust,
which was declared Illegal in Illinois, and
ny the Lead Trust, which was declared
illegal in Missouri. The plan has been con-
demned as in restraint Of trade In every
state in the Union. And when the Stand
ard OIL Company Of New Jersey succeeded
the trustees the properties simply were
turned over from one 10 the other, a
perpetual corporate form that should hold
their common wealth was substituted for the
trustees. whose lives might be cut short by
death. Is one any more legal than the
other"
Mr.. Kellogg said that II the companies
whose stock was procured by the Standard
in 1895 were not competing II was because
they were held together in Illegal trusts,
that OF 1879 and that Of 1882
Take away the fear OF prosecution by
the government. and the Standard oil would
put every independent IN this country out
of business jim five years" he continued
"The independents can exist only under
the protection Of the law"
Question by Chief Justice
plants against the Standard companies
were based on their methods. and IL objec-
tiou was made TO the methods because
Illegal
THAT and size" Mr.. Kellogg replied.
Great wealth enables them to use meth
DDS some unfair. which would be- illegal
or rcurehensible in the hands Of the corner
-rnc. .Tyman."
Suppose they are a giant. but do not use
q giauts strength" suggested Justice Nc
I.ona.
They would use that power were il not
ir .ac law was the reply.
NJ: Kellogg dwelt on the profits of the
companies as further evidence Of monop-
oily The record did not show where all
the profits went. he said. For instance,
there was nothing 10 show what happened
10 $23.O0O0OO out Of the earnings of one
small pipe line. Mr.. Kellogg said that it
was paid 70 p. S. Trainer.
Who is this man Trainer" inquired
Justice Lurton.
"Oh, he's purchasing agent in New Jer-
sey" said Mr.. Kellogg II tried in every
Az 10 learn where that little sum went.
The officials Of the Standard when on the
stand told me that they could not find ont.
Mr.. Mburn once said that he would not
crafty my curiosity by telling me-"
Large profits at home were not justified.
Mr.. Kellogg said, 70 offset small profits IN
foreign trade
Build up the foreign trade il you can,"
he added. but deny the right to do so a
the expense Of American men and women"
Rebates to the Standard.
In beginning his argument Mr. Kellogg
referred 10 the rebates the Standard re-
ceived up to the time this suit was be-
sun" lie took issue with Mr.. Aulburn's
position that before the passage OF the
interstate commerce law, in 1887, II was
legal FOR n big shipper 10 receive a lower
freight rate than a small shipper.
II have listened with admiration" he
said "to the charming story of growth
and Capitalization OF this benevolent insu-
tuition IT was told as only a great advo-
cate could tell it. II was a story Of how
the Standard Oil was the result Of natural
growth guided by the master mind OF Mr.
Rockefeller. But ] mean 20 tell 10 the
court the cold facts And 1 say on my
oath as a member of this bar and regard
that highly. that the equal Of this record
in oppression IS not to be found in the com
mercial history Of this country. I distrust
my ability TO present these facts" He
added that the Standard was born and
reared In oppression and hangs to-day over
the country like threatening cloud
Mr. Milburn does not know this record
as do" he said. "He did not sit for lS7
weary days as those twenty thousand pages
of record were being written"
In the course OF his argument the ques-
ton came up as TO whether or not John
d. Rockefeller had made a slip once upon
time.
Mr.. Kellogg said that Mr. Rockefeller
either did not tell the truth In an afldavit
he made IN suit in 1880 about the alleged
connection Of certain ref1neries with the
trust or when he was on the stand in the
present suit
Justice Holmes suggested that the affi-
davit could be true literally.
Didn't he offer any explanation OF the
afidavit when he was on the stand In this
caser' inquired Justice Lurton,
mo. he couldn't" replied Mr.. Kellogg.
Damned for everything, hut praised for
nothing, was the way the Standard OIL has
been treated by the government" said Mr.
AIilburn in closing his argument TN this
record, covering forty years OF business
everything tho Standard has ever done is
related. II has done some things in strenu-
Gus times that II should not have done
That was human. II has done nothing that
goes to the issue here
THE evil Of the afirmance Of this de-
cree. it is needless TO say. would be mon
strous IL is fortunate that the case is left
I. ,S