Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1913-04-13
IN
TEXAS i REAL
HOLLY REANIS WRITES ABOUT
PECULIAR SITUATION IN
STATE OF TEXAS.
ATTEMPT TO GUST ONE
Strange Actions of the Attorney -Gcn-
cral--lalcs Case 10 His
Home Town.
tBy HOLLAND :. REAvIsJ

lb1 IlpiitNb - hfstNiNtl
A situation without precedent has
been developed in the OH industry in
Texas. Four large companies are
competing for business in the state,
and the competition is real Recent
ly the attorney general filed suit Ia
oust one of the four, the Magnolia
Petroleum company, alleging that II
is perpctuation Of the old Standard
Oh trust This action followed with
in five days after the Magnolia com
pany had made known its intention
to extend its business TO oklahoma
The attorney general took the suit To
his home town, GreenVille, Hunt
county; had the cashier of his home
bank named as receiver for the com
pany, had his former law partners
Clark q Leddy named as attorneys
for the receiver and retained as coun-
sci for the state another firm of
Greenyille lawyers, said 10 be attor-
neys for the Cotton Bet rairoad.
"Lige' Perkins, general attorney ~
the Cotton Belt, for years has been
on the payroll Of one Of the oil in
terests which is a competitor of
the Magnolia in Texas.
Three of the af'fidavits upon which
the suit is based were made by Off
cials and attorneys for two of the
Magnolia's competitors- namely, the
Texas company and the II. Clay
Pierce interests The fourth affY-
dayit appearing in the papers filed
in the proceeding was made by the
county attorney of Harris county in
which the city of Houston Is located.
The general offices of the Texas com
pany are in Houston. A St Louis
paper this week published the fact
that this county attorney and one Of
Mr.. Pierce's Texas lawyers We're
stopping AT the Planters Hotel, ST.
Louis, and were occupying the same
room.
This county attorney, under the
Texas law, will be entitled to share
of the 10 per cent of the one million
dollar penalties which are askel in
the suit, in the event-not considered
probable-that the case is made to
stick.
In the foregoing brief statement
of the facts surrounding and attend
ing the filing of this suit may be dis
cerned the parts played by the Mar
nolia's competitors,
What appears on its face as a
prosecution in the interest of the pub
lie Is actually in the interest of these
competitors. The more trouble they
can cause this growing and expand
ing company the more benefit they
can derive The charge is made in
the petition that the Magno ia is
seeking to destroy colpeti;ion, where
as the truth is that If the attorney
general throws the Magnolia out OF
Texas 1t will remove from the field
one of the four existing competing
{. mraLnI.s 81 We W have only
three.
1t is widely believed in Texas that
the attorney general, who is ambiti-
Gus politically, was influenced in fill
ing the Magnolia suit by his desire to
engineer a popular antitrust prose
cution that would advance his po,it-
ical fortunes-perhaps land him in
the governors chair.
Instead of meeting with the APP
proval of the Texas people, the suit
has aroused storm of protest.
Farmers associations, commercial
clubs and other organizations have
adopted resolutions, couched in sting
iHg language, condemning the tactics
employed in the suit. The attorney
general is beginning to find out that
those who counseled with him and
urged the suit had more than a pass
ing interest in the matter. In other
words, he is beginning to ask ques-
tions with a view to finding out just
where he is at" 1t won't take him
long to ascertain this, neither will
he be long in doubt as to the motives
of those who got him to leap before
he looked.
As the publisher of an oil trade
paper, / have taken my stand in the
matter without suggestion or influ-
ence from any source. I believe the
attorney-general has been double
crossed by some very clever gentle
men who have axes to grind. Be
fore the thing is through with all the
facts will be given to the public. A
number of the Texas daily newspapers
know where the Niger in the wood
pile is located and before the thing
is over with | am quite sure the
Texas people will have their eyes
opened to an amazingly bold frame
up.