The enterprise., 1911-12-07
OIL LTRUSTC0NTROL
IS FINALLY ENDED
THE NEW JERSEY CORPORATION
CEASES TO CONTROL AFFAIRS
OF SUBSIDIARIES.
NEW SHARES OF STOCK ISSUED
Independent Tobacco Interests Make
Another Attempt to Block Reor-
ganization Plans Of Ameri-
can Tobacco Co.

New York, Dec. 1.-The career 81
the oil trust" has officially come to
an end. The Standard Oil company
of New Jersey, sometimes called the
father of trusts, and perhaps the most
celebrated corporation in the world,
will no longer control the affairs, as
the holding company of more than
30 corporations, in various branches
of the oil business.
These subsidiaries, which under
the decree of the United States su.
preme court must conduct independ.
emily the various enterprises, have
assumed entire management of their
own affairs.
Held Their Identity.
The task of effecting dissolution
was made less difficult by the fact
that the subsidiary companies never
had lost their identity. They have
retained their separate officers and
boards of directors, and to large ex.
tent have conducted their own af.
fairs from their home offices, in what.
OSOA 0C0COo CACy W0I0s lu0S0 COut
panies, however, have had represen.
tation at 26 Broadway, the home OF
the New Jersey corporation, which
exercised general direction over all
their affairs.
1t is this connection which will end.
Subsidiaries which have not already
surrendered their offices at 26 Broad.
wi IN
affairs of each company will be con.
Quoted in it's home state. The Stand.
ard Oil company of New Jersey will
continue to exist, as it owns several
large plants.
To each stockholder has been for
warded his proportionate share Of
stock in each of the subsidiaries, so
that in place of one issue of stock he
will have more than 80. The subsi.
diaries will continue to exist as here.
tofore, except that in cases where
the same men have acted as officers
or directors of more than one COM
pany, changes will be made to avoid
such duplication.
The public's relations with Stand
ard Oil will not be visibly affected, at
least for the present.
Tobacco Independents Fight.
Felix M. Levy, attorney for inde-
pendent tobacco interests, announced
that he will ask the United States
supreme court for leave to file petit
tion for writ of mandamus direct
ing the judges of the circuit court of
New York to vacate their decree ap.
proving reorganization of the Ameri-
can Tobacco company. He will ask
them to enter decree Gin conform
ity with the opinion of the supreme
court.
The petition for leave to file has
already been served upon the attor-
neys of the American Tobacco com.
pany. 1t further asks the courts per.
mission to petition for mandamus
permitting the petitioner named as
"the leaf tobacco board of trade of
the city of New York" to intervene
in the case with right to appeal |
from the decree, and for writs prohib,
iting the execution of the reorganiza-
tion plan. A writ ordering the pro-
duction by the circuit court judges |
of "all documents and evidence on
which they may have acted in deter
mining the form of their said de.
cree" is also asked.
The petition sets forth that preyi, |
GUS to the submission of the plan to
the circuit court by the American |
Tobacco company, four private con.
ferences were held in New York,
some of which were attended by the
judges of the c>urt, Attorney General |
Wickersham, James G. McReynolds,
special assistant to the attorney gen.
eral; the attorneys for the tobacco
company and two of the individual
defendants, James B. Duke and Per.
cival S. Hill.
The petition points out the plans
'vital defects" alleged by the inde-
pendent tobacco interests, chief of
which is that virtual control of the
disintegrated companies still remains
with the 20 individual defendants. It
then goes on to say that despite a
widespread disapproval publicly ex-
pressed by the varied interests in |
the tobacco industry, which have been
oppressed and dominated by the said
unlawful combination, and by the
public generally, the attorney general
OF the United States has publicly de-
clared his purpose not to appeal from
the said decree, and thereby obtain
a final and authoritative decision by
this honorable court"