Evening star., 1936-11-29
OIL FIRMS TOFACE
PR|CE-F|X|NGT TRIAL
First Skirmish in Court Bat.
tie With U. S. Is Set
for Tuesday.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
MADISON Wis, November 28.-
The first skirmish between the Fed
eral Government and IS Of the Ma
tion's major oil companies over an in
dictment charging conspiracy to fix
gasoline prices will be fought here
Tuesday In the oak-paneled court
room OF Judge Patrick T. Stone.
Attorneys for the companies and So
individuals, all but two Of them are
Oil executives, have been directed to
appear that day to enter pleas to the
accusation they violated the Sherman
antitrust law.
The pleadings will pave the way for
trial Of case which has attracted
wide interest In the oil industry and
produced the appearance before Fed
eral commissioners and the finger
printing of many top ranking officials
In the industry.
The grand jury which returned the
blanket indictments group of men
and women who also hear evidence in
all the minor cases originating in the
Western Wisconsin district-has been
at work since last May. Madison,
although far removed from the oil
fields, was selected as the site Of the
investigation by Attorney General
Homer s. Cummings.
Complaints by Jobless.
Wisconsin is one Of 10 States in
the Midwest where the Government
charges gasoline was sold to inde-
pendent jobbers at prices fixed arti-
ficially through buying pool opera
tions with independent refineries in
Texas, Oklahoma and mid-continent
fields. The Federal inquiry followed
complaints by independent jobbers
that the major companies were try
ing to squeeze" them out of business.
The grand jury recently returned
second indictment on another phase
Of the investigation, which charges
that the margins of profit the inde-
pendent dealers could make were re.
stricted in their contracts with the
majors. Action in that case, however,
has been deferred.
The defendants so far have had no
opportunity to make a legal defense
against the accusations but many Of
them asserted the buying pools Of
which the Department of Justice COM
planned were the result of Govern.
ment efforts to stabilize the industry
through the N. r. A. petroleum CODE
May Challenge Jurisdiction.
When the defense attorneys appear
kAfnvo oh
lenge the jurisdiction of this court on
the ground that the ofienses charged
were not committed in this district
but no definite indication of such q
course has been given.
The companies indicted are Stand
ard Oil of Indiana. Socony-Vacuum
Of New York, Cities Service, New
York; Continental of Ponca City,
Okla; Gulf Oil of Pittsburgh, Pure
Oil, Chicago; Shell Petroleum Corp,
St. Louis; Sinclair Refining Co., New
York; The Texas Co., New York; Tide
water Oil Of New York, Mid-Conti-
nent Corp. Of Tulsa, Phillips Co. Of
Bartlesville, Okla; Skelly Oil of
Tulsa; Barnsdall Corp. Of Tulsa; Globe
Oil of Mcpherson, Kans.; Deep Rock
Corp. of Tulsa, Cities Service Export
Co. of New York, Empire Oil of Bar
tlesville, Louisiana Oil of Shreveport,
Gulf Co. Of Pittsburgh and Wadhams
Oil Co. Of Milwaukee
Three trade publications, the Chi
esgo Journal of Commerce, Platts OIL
gram of Cleveland and National Pc
troleum Publishing Co. of Cleveland,
along with two of their executives,
also were indicted
They were accused of aiding the
alleged conspiracy by publishing the
prices established in the buying pools
as open market quotations.