OIL MAGNATES.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 142, 14 June 1909, Page 3

OIL MAGNATES.

PLAINTIFF IN A LIBEL ACTION

NEW YORK, April 13. Mr John Rockefeller, junior, son ot the "Oil Kins," tired of being ragged, lampooned and caricatured by two New York papers, brought an action for criminal libel against the president, treasurer and secretary or the company which owns and controls these papers, but the Supreme Court here, while holding that the article of which Mr Rockefeller complained was certainly libellous per se, declared that there was no evidence against the officers mentioned as records the writing of it, or the pubhshfno- or circulation of the newspaper containing it. and as the Court could not conceive the punishment of a man for the commission of an act m which he did not participate or concerning which he had no criminal intent, the Court allowed the defendants to gofree, as most people here expected they would go. This means that young Mr Rockefeller cannot get redress, and, just to make bad worse, the very paper accused of offending appears to-day with an article making tun of the Bibleclass which the young oil potentate conducts in such leisure as he can snatch from the affairs of the Standard Oil Company. This article says the main object of discussion at Mr Rockefeller's Bible class last night was what to do with the three legs ot lamb which had been left over from the election night dinner of the class. Everyone was ready to go home whena member of the refreshment committee, says ' the article, figuratively threw the three legs of lamb into the midst of the gathering, etc. It was finally voted to turn the lamb over to the refreshment committee to sell on the best possible terms, subject to the supervision of the executive committee.