Evening star., 1942-05-02
Standard Oil Officials
Don Dare 10 Testify,
Senate Group Told
Poet With !. G. Forben
Retarded Acid Output,
Federal Aide Insists
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press
Irving Lipkowitz of the Justice De-
partments antitrust division told
the Senate Patents Committee to-
day that officials of the Standard Oil
Co. of New Jersey Gid not dare ap-
pear before the committee and try
to refute his charges that their
agreement with huge German trust
had retarded synthetic production of
acetic acid in the United States.
He declared that Walter c. Teagle,
Standard Oil official, and a 1929
operating agreement between his
firm and the German l. G. Farben-
industrie. mot I, deserve credit for
conveying the impression that
Standard Oil was to be I. G. Far
ben's Charlie Mccarthy in the
chemical field"
Mr.. Lipkowitz testified before the
committee nearly five hours Thurs
day, declaring that the German
company, by "adroit manipulation"
OF its United States patents and by
a one-sided partnership with Stand
ard in a chemical development COM
pany, had prevented the full de-
velopment of new method of
making acetylene, from which acetic
acid is manufactured.
La Toilette Assails Standard.
Mr. Lipkowitz asked to be allowed
to testify again today, following
publication in New York of a state
ment by Standard officials that the
antitrust official had drawn con-
clusions not based on the facts"
available to him
Chairman Bone of the committee
announced at the outset of today's
hearing that 81 am not disposed to
pay much attention to ex-parte
statements made in the newspa-
pers"
"If Standard Oil officials want
to come down here and make
statements under oath, they're well
come to do So" he added.
Senator La Toilette, Progressive, of
Wisconsin called the oil company's
statement las despicable a piece of
public relations work by giant cor
poration as I have ever seen" He
declared that Mr.. Lipkowitz's rebuff
tai tore Standards statement to
shreds and tatters,"
The Standard officials,' Senator
La Toilette said mot only did not
have CUTS enough to come before this
committee where they could be
sworn and cross-examined, but they
left the official who made the state
ment anonymous"
100 Documents In Record.
Mr.. Lipkowitz told the committee
that more than 100 documents were
in the record to support his accusa-
tions, and that Standards officials
apparently did not have a sound
factual answer" and therefore
adopted that age-old rule of debate,
when you are weak on facts, give
them hell"
They dare not argue their case
here before your committee. where
facts and figures must be presented
and where they would have to ex-
plain the meaning of many of the
documents which were filed here on
Thursday" he added
Repeatedly Mr.. Lipkowitz referred
to the 1929 agreement between
standard and I. G. Farben, which
te said was the foundation OF the
relationship between the two con-
Germs.
He quoted that agreement as
reading, In part:
If the company (Standard) shall
desire to initiate anywhere in the
world new chemical development
nor closely related to its then busi-
ness, it will offer TO I. G. control
Of such new enterprise fncluding
the patent rights thereto) on fair
and reasonable terms"