The Washington herald., 1913-02-02
OIL Company
ATTACKS FISHER
Brief Is Filed with House Com
mittee on Indian Affairs
by Attorney.
DRAGS In WICKERSHAM
Assails Standard Company and Says
the Gar Lives at rs
Broadway.

| The direct and specific charge that Sec
| retary Of the Interior Walter L. Fisher
and other high officials of the government
| are controlled by the Standard Oil Com
pany is made in a remarkable brief filed
with the House Committee ON Indian
Affairs by the Uncle Sam Oil Company,
the independent corporation which has
appealed to Congress for validation OF
| oil and gas leases il negotiated with a
council of the Usage Indians in Okla
hOma- The leases are said to be worth
$50. OO0Oo9.
The brief was prepared by Albert l..
Wilson. of Kansas CITY, counsel Tor tho
Independent company. The y original
charges in the case were made by mem-
bers of the Indian Council, and they de-
clared that Secretary Fisher had dis
eliminated in favor of the OIL Trust
against the independents.
We have a czar in the United
States, and he sits at 26 Broadway"
says the brief OF the independent COM
pany. His edict is more powerful
! than the edict of a car. He commands
government officials as thoroughly and
completely as though they had sworn
allegiance to him
"A former President of the United
| States. a former Attorney General a
former Postmaster General. two Fed
eral Judges. a district attorney. the
present Secretary OF the Interior, the
| First Assistant Secretary of the Inte-
rior, the Commissioner Of Indian Af-
fairs. and many minor officials have
proven themselves willing instruments
| in carrying out policies directly IN
i harmony with the wishes and aims OF
the car at IS Broadway.
| At another point in the brief. reference
Is made TO an act of Secretary of the
Interior. who has shown all along that
he is absolutely dominated and controlled
by the same influence that gets its orders
from the car at " Broadway"
wickersham Implicated.
Attorney General Wickersham is also
| implicated by the independent company.
OF him Mr.. Wilson says: Il desire to
| call the attention of the committee to the
different manner in which the present
Attorney General treats the Standard Oil
Company and the Uncle Sam Oil Com
pany.
Some time ago three officers OF the
Standard Oil Company were indicted in
the Federal Court of the State Of Texas
charged with having violated the Sher-
man antitrust law. Prior to that in
dictment. the Supreme Court of the Unit
ed States in the Standard Oil case had
found that upon the evidence in that
case ten of these officers of the Standard
Oil Company and thirty-five of its sub
sidlary corporations were guilty Of vio-
lation of said act, but in that case the
hands of the court were tied and II could
not mete out any other punishment than
to decree the dissolution of the trust.
That case had been so adroitly
planned that, Notwithstanding the evil
dence showed the guilt of the parties,
the individuals could not be punished.
What would you think of a prosecut-
ing attorney who should bring an equity
suit against a horse thief to ascertain
II he had actually stolen the horse, and
IL so. to have 1t ordered returned to the
owner instead of charging him with a
crime and attempting to send him to the
penitentiary?
And yet this is just the procedure
followed by the Attorney General in the
Standard Oil case and with the testi-
mony of guilt of the officers OF the
Standard Oil Company staring him in
the face from the record in the Supreme
Court he orders no arrest to be made on
TIE indictments found in Texas until
he had an opportunity to examine the
testimony submitted to the grand Jury
Upon which the indictments were based,
and after taking his time to make the
examination he finds that the testimony
Is insufficient and orders the indictment
Cancelled"
After detailing I the company's ex-
periences with the Interior Department.
the brief says: In fact, gentlemen. the
record Shove that not only the head of
the department but every subordinate
whose name has been mentioned in con-
nection with any of the negotiations
has done precisely what the Standard
Oil Company would want done under
the circumstances