Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1911-05-25
oil To OBEY LAW
DECLARES COUNSEL
Standard Attorney Says Com
panies viii Separate.
NEW RULE PARAMOUNT ISSUE
Administration Will Formulate No Pol
icy Concerning Future Trust Liti-
cation Until Tobacco Deci-
sion is Rendered.

New York = The first word from
the Standard Oil company fol
lowing a decision against it by the
United States Supreme court, order.
ing the dissolution of the corpora.
ton within six months, as a violator
Of the Sherman act, was given out
1t makes two points clear:
First, there will be no contumacy
by the company-it intends to obey
the decree.
Second, it will be some time before
any plans Of reorganization are given
out.
The company has insisted through
out that no plans had been formulated
in advance of the decree, and the
statement made by Mortimer, F. Ell
lot, general solicitor for the com
pany, takes the same attitude. He
said:
Having only before US the press
reports of Chief Justice Whites oral
opinion and the remarks of Justice
Harlan, and not having seen the opin-
ion Of the court in full, it is impossible
to make any lengthy statement. The
full opinion must be read and studied
by my associates and myself before
it can be intelligently dealt with.
TT may, however, be said that the
Standard Oil company will obey the
decree Of the court and that all the
companies embraced in the courts de-
cree will carry on their business as
usual under the direction of their own
officers and through their own cor
poTate organizations"
Nashington-Unt the Supreme
court has rendered its decision in the
pending case of the tobacco trust the
administration will formulate no pol
icy based on Mondays far-reaching
decision. The manner in which the
court will now apply the rule laid
down in the Standard Oil case to the
facts presented in the suit against
the tobacco trust become the para
mount issue with department officials.
Broadly speaking. Attorney General
Wickersham regards Mondays deCi-
sion the most important declaration
ever made by court of justice. But
because of the fact that new rule is
laid down 1t becomes essential to OBJ
serve how the court will enforce the
rule before any of the proceedings are
begun under the new dispensation.
It is regarded as particularly for
tunate that there is to be had so soon
as the Standard Oil decision an opin-
ion from the court that will serve as
guide in all future litigation.
So far as the effect of the decision
is concerned, both the president and
Attorney General Wickersham de-
ciared that they were perfectly salts
fed and neither would permit himself
to be drawn into any expression Of
opinion with regard to the point made
by Associate Justice Harlan in his
dramatic dissent. Not even the quota
tons from President Taft's previous
utterances, which seem, to put him at
variance with the majority view of the
court, served to bring forth any ex-
PLANTATION from Mr. Taft. In converse
ton with callers on this point, he
merely referred to the fact that every
man was entitled to view on the
circumstances before the Supreme
court had passed on a case; but once
the court had decided, it is the presi-
dents opinion that patriotic duty and
a regard for American institutions re-
quire that every citizen loyalty accept
the view of the Supreme court as his
own