SIX MILLIONS FINE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 27, 26 October 1907, Page 15

SIX MILLIONS FINE.

i ' THE GREAT OIL TRUST; , ;t "i.-There 'is; sqniethirig' dramatic "and; startling . in. the imposition of a fino 'of 29;240,000d015. by-a. court -of broad : jurisdiction and .high rank. Some observers abrpadv:(writcsAtho . ',pf_; the .;.'! Argiis ■ .^linaer"'^;datq^ugust'lo)' ( ..may. 'liaye,.'thought 'that Judge Landis, in. deciding ; that '. dard : ..pil;-. i Companj r .,(or-iTriist)' must pay ..this huge psnalty, wasiseekiiig notorietyi-or.'cater-lng.ito- the domands of'-an -inflamed and unreasonable ■ public,seritimonti. ■ -Such' an ! fipiri- • ion; V: if; - it 1 'exist#, r 'is - riot \ warranted . by" the ' facts: ' :! 2 :, Urifo'rt'unately,'' l 'the under, whichthe great. Oil' Trust'was,- convicted' in tho. -I'oderal, Court,.iat, Chicago; provides ~no pjison r penalty. Years ago, when.no, attempt - to was -made,, tho -statute- did . papniit imprisonment, but' this-penalty • was thoughtfullji) removed-'by";the'allies of- the ' railways;;-iirCoiigres.S''wh'oii the'-statute"was' : ; re>Mse^! , iri'-'l9o3.''':Judgo , "L'andis could iendjrio ,11 Thfc'' L h'o i ayj()st' fine" perriiitted"by '■; tllb'';' law' M w-puld a be.Tuearqst.' in! leffectiyeriess.. to ''This-fino, therefore, -hp;.imposed, /.and; .people I commpnd.:his d«is]6n_.',f''Vy.y"r-- ■•''• It'should po-.rememboredithat tho Oil .Trusthas built up its~monopqly and acquired'its ' power to accumulate enoririous .profits"mainly by, means of such se'crot f 'an'd :lurilawful^compacts iWth railrdad coriipiriies , 'as; tii'oi6nb beforo.the Court'.in';Chicagq;.'in'.the"jijry's .verdict. The offences to which'tliat verdict related wero committed (in only a small part of>tho, territory cqvercd by- the trust's operaf tions)'- .during-,the, three .--years.' ending with In-.those:"three' years ; th*o"''trust's net , earnings; 'as:? its'' secretary ".testified,were 199,800,000d015., and, aft'er'paying ll7;600,000 , dols:' iii "dividerids/'it'added'tho, -.'remaining : 82,000,000d015. to its surplus. Since 1905 its earnings jhave'te'en a't'-atioVit"the same rate. ) - The fine was imposed on, Satiirday.Jast, Aug- • list- 3., published a reportshowing. that, the trust's dividends in the last 24 years have amounted to 651,922)904^013.,''Whi1e' / its. : -rietreariiiiigsiliave been' f / ; at' least 790,000,,OOOdols." • Evidently a ■ fine of- 139.340,000d015."' will not bankrupt the-trust; . - And it .is .'only.' a small ; parfc!of;tlie ' rpf.',which'.-ithp combination lias robbed 'tlie . publie .J)y, 1 rapans; : of,, persistenti violations,: of the;:'.l^w,,'.which '.prphihits .idiscrimination i ill-, railway""freight"rates. . ;;Thjs ( |fiiie.^yas..;2o,oop.dols:,on,.each.,of,,.l462 counts. " Similar .qases,'jiiivWy.i'ng, 4422, counts,*,* orc^stili, i ,tb''jjp. tr;cd; in ..othjer,-parts "of;,the . .thoso", jpteift miUed^ Anifadditional indictis'oon,toj"be,; ropprted.byj.grand

juries.--, r,!,::,,;;,;;. r Jlbhn Rockefeller j, head'of ,the trust, r did not, allow the ,news, of., this unprecedented fine td.;intirrupt j tbe''gamp.pf,.golf in which lie was 4n^^'W^'.;a^^nQ{i!;n.'' ! .,'A. very interesting' is thi?.-, sercnp'.and . healthy-, ,mani ofsistyjeight,years,\,liqlilcr. oi the world's largest pirate, fortune.,' T His' manner is .that pf. graq-. lp'u's ?^^|/^ffi(»t^'''.,<^]arte^..He,-,- lives' - siinplyj ,'ancl is; jfond t pf, his; home..'.,. For .years, .superintond.eriti..().f. a, Baptist ;Sun- •' day School, ai^'^e'l^'p^usilidjiieia,togjrb,good • do. ibejibnestlj.jto save,''put'.of, their, earn-, ings," 1 'and^thp'.lijce.'', r lncideiitnlly,. .lie -recalls foi:/' their' iPf ■ his • any ~menihqr; of, .his what., is ejilled, ''society^,or.;matle/anr.ostentatio'usl display of. #Mlth.;"J 'direction,' the,;, Oil a 'most. .pers|st9iit-jrio- ' laj^t£^J^7' : and,, meanrioss; of!.which .an;, old-time,';pirate . j&een.as(iamed. i.... ■;:|ts;;;unjiist 'practices'. seqret.'an'd'. .unlawful. cbriipacts •with 'railroads;;.dbwtii to' the.most,', despicable aioi,petty 'espionage; of; ihelcdmisitbrs;.wh6m it. squght to man peddling, oil. " lioi.esc'ape.., .This'great fine, trust. ;,mu'ch; reckon ' with, justice,. would, iliavo' pfleer^d,,the' J last'j'days' i pf,;6ld"'o Rice':if. htf'/cquld,' have Jived. !a. little' lbnger. I • knew. Me," tho ; !peniiii(ess;,:;V!nio ' compacjiV that. built' ;iip; tho JribPPiiptyis .iridicatcd,by,rohe';thiit'; : was -'aimed at Rice, a ' for ,;tliafcof,; the, local: competing _ : the ..trust .was qhtained, from.. the : sam'e. source., .The ..trust's compact with tho followsThat',' oil;ifor the itr.us;t.-,sho'uld.,,be,. r carried, for 10..-cents" a. should bo! K.Vcents'. a barrel .'; j'and, that ..the . trust ; should. repeiTC,2s,' cents ; out'.'.'bf; ey'ery So - cents paid; by .Rice!,., to-: bpiai6n yd'a"jir6w.n'ent;''. attorney .'iti.;support^'; ~pfit, c j 6ypr l ed; )i bj' n ßice l , ..and laicl t before., a,;court, was then iu the hands of a-receiver; whom' th^pourti.imniedia.tely,'reanoyed ,from ..'office.' Lntil|.recent|y.,jt has, bee'n/.practicaliy. 'im.pe?s!,lpi;^9!V'ii?^®^utprSj J or-.| I ,''aggrrp^ed i spns.'to;.prove;,'','th.e exist'enpe.;, agreer. ments.;^ji y ;the .whiclrrtho, groat.finp relates,,'..the, 'frpight./rate paid , by,' the trust,the,..published rate .VyTlip railroad' itself'(Chicago and is', ,still .to ,be :prosepjite^.lt*<,was(, under,.' ; tlio, cp'ntrpi. ,of -E. H,-.. ; Harrima')i, '.thGn,,,as, ; iiow, -.a. representatiybjof .the .Oil .Trust capitalists. v...; ,7 ;,;Mu c h,oo r the, ,vast -. wealth' v/hicli. this group £, ctiuired .by unjust.,,and,- unlawful ■ compacts, b,i 1 roacls .-,. lias, been.. invested--ini rail--W'J .'.withjthc result!that'.,; tho, .-Oil. interest, is .now dominantin.railway,Corporations.', These investments ,- ; becn,,, ,ma'dc,: highly ..pro-" ntablo, in;r variousways,•-. notp oppn t0..-the ' sn# s ,stockhplder. r of.>theisamo--usQSi;>:in i;: ,qbtainmg ,controlof' manufacturiug .industrießj, • or-'of - large into-' has, 1 come about . .?<■■ iLeather,^and seve.-al.'othei. tnist-i varp now, practicallyowned; by. these .'.whio. arcr also pbwerfui' in .''the ■T'-ust, :. : .to-, which -John ;D;,'Rocket.eUeri turned, ovpr his - iron • • ore -mines. for - a*qput ? ps,ooo,ooodol,.;in. .stock. • They iiar. cost hini 'something" less;. ; than. 5,000,000d01. Ih'o incroment of,,the.group's wealth hasnot becn ...measured ,;-by, ordinary.into: est- c (lividend ;: rates,,s ; -"... ', '..surprise, -.of many, >' tho, Oil ' Trust W,thods, lire .-now, severely .-.criticised. b y?.l!rpfpssprs, : qf, the .University vof-Chicago au institution to ,which John D. Rockefeller ",?.S millions - that 'it is-com--*18 ? a, product .of ! his bounty."' FpllpYi.rig, the,, imposition, lof ' the • great >fiuo'> J.roics.sorZoublhi, ■ holding- .the . ; chair 'of-socio-lofiy/. in,'a university .lecture,' that tho,-trust's,-defence iw'as the same.'that was used '.ifoivall-.kiuds.-of business - chicanery;''and that , ;..jß.ofckefeller,f,,and"'!Ha!rriman. | iyerc driymg ,tho';poople;ito socialism;".:!! On "the Banie,,dayi Professor y.-Mathews.-wdean' of ;the Tjhiyeisity'iS^ThoologicaliSchool, roundly-"de-nounced- all (^"philanthropic,i./ -hypocrites, clearly, having -Rockofoller-iin'i miud;i " ■: p robably the stream of ,tho Oil"Eing's gifts tp this.univcrsity; will; Wowidryup;'.';ThPre are other.^similar,.,institutions,, that -w'ill 'recoivethem: gladly; F . A few O'ears ago,. Dr.' Hadleyl' then f.Riid;-, now presidont] of") Yale University,' 8 5Suedli.carn C ,stly._fin. public-,that' trust magnates; should ,ba discouraged and punished by Not-ilong- afterwards i Mleifwws, .gratefully received "by. President Iladley, ;,who has.vnot .'sinco. ■■insistpd.' upon' ostracism -as; airemedy .for thist-'evils' -' Attheianmialrcommoncement,. a- few wePlis aeo hfl-jr.ea.drto tho.nsseinblctl alum in, with- iovfui egressions of, approval,':,the names of soverah sa.pns of? i~ Oil, TruSt- . or: ' other 'trust familipsiT.who -ljadrrecently vinade. largo'gifts toitthei.university, rrdt should bc.saM.'W-evpr(-,that Oil Truit :boiiefactions' have' had little or no_elfect upon the teaching of our colleges;::,! Puohc -opinion,- President Roosevelt s-prosecutions,, and tho . judgments of the ('ourt3 staiid in-the way. - ~ ■ lat , est , of these:prosecution's, bcKiin withmrtho last'-month,', tho defon t lrfnts' are the: Tobacco Trust-'and tho Powder Trust Among- :tho 'capitalists' • who' 'control "the first or.itho- two '-combinations arc ••Thomas '-F' Ryan ; and: others-whose: names- have b'ecomb widely , known in .conncction with oiir "reat life-assurance companies.-' 'The 'production of; ; dynninito; smokeless " powder, and ordinary. gunpowder is practically 'monopolised byr.the-sccond,• which -appears- to have ox-ictcd.'fa.--profit- of:-lla - "-'per' cent, upoh the 'arge". supplier.: sold'-to -'tho ; Government for >u#?>warships'-'and- coast defences; * In tins' Powder..Trifsii;' the chieffigure' is Colonel lerr.v A. I)u l'ont,--.a .promiiu'iit- mchihcr • :f--'l'resi*wf-Rt lloor.-.-vclt;s |K«litical party and i-;senator of ll'.e Unitt-d States.