Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-10-12
BUSTING TRUST.

Eleven years ago the Standard Oil company. the
giant of the oil world, was broken UP by court order
into some thirty-odd fragments. 1t was undisputed
that the concern had grown to enormous size. Big
ness in the business concern was held to be an evil.
While either a big concern or a little one could do
many improper things, the power Of the big one to
work injury was obviously greater than that of the
little one. 1t was held, therefore, that the way to
prevent injury was to check growth, and it was
upon this assumption that the nation proceeded in
the enactment of legislation which, applied BY the
courts, led to the dissolution of the Standard oil
company. T.
There were good many people who were, I'm
able~to see just how this was going to mend mat
tiers. The old Standard Oil company was a corpora
ton which owned certain tangible property-oil
lands, wells, refneries, pipe lines, distributing sys-
tens, by-product factories, and so forth. Through
their ownership Of shares in the company the stock
holders were the owners of that property. Their
stock certificates were merely evidences of that
ownership. The dissolution order did not change
the ownership of a single piece of property, Under
the old organization the man who owned a share
OF Standard Oil stock was the owner of his proper
tomato traction Of all the property of the company.
When the dissolution was affected, instead of own
ing one share of stock in a big company he owned
a fraction of a share5in each Of several relatively
little ones. But he owned Just as much property as
he had owned before, and exactly the same PROPERTY.
The chief argument in favor Of the legislation
which resulted in this dissolution was that the com
pany was monopolistic in character, and that the
ownership OF so much property by a single corpora
ton prevented the competition which was held to
be SO highly necessary. Therefore the big COM
pany was to be broken up into a lot of little ones,
and the little ones were to fight each other.
The act of dissolution was performed, and the
world looked on more or less admiringly at this
busting of a gigantic trust. The company was un-
doubtedly put to a good deal of inconvenience. In
stead of one organization there had to be three
dozen, each with its corps of officers and separate
set OF books. There was also more or less trading
OF properties among the several minor companies,
this being a matter of convenient handling. But
hands of the same individuals who had owned it
before, and those people, possibly to the surprise of
some people, refrained from competing with them
eslves through their separate properties, and have
consistently continued to refrain, even to the pres
|ent day.
The disintegration of the old company did not
affect the ownership of the oil properties. It did
not introduce a single competitive element into the
business. 1t did not reduce the price of oil. 1t did
not reduce the profits of the stockholders except
as these may have been affected by the increased
cost entailed by divided management.
The law under which this decision was given was
exactly the kind of law for which there was a strong
popular demand. 1t was applied just as written.
he decision OF the court was carried out to the
letter. If it was operated to the advantage of any,
one it would be interesting to have it's Benefits IN
this case pointed out. The subject is brought for
chilly toNmind by the distribution of stock dividends
now in progress in the several Standard Oil groups.
which are in addition to some two billions already
distributed since the dissolution from which so
much was expected in some quarters, and from
which there was so'little reason to expect anything
of value.