Standard Oil Court Case
In 1911 the biggest oil industry was being tried for going against the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Sherman Antitrust Act is a law forbidding contract, trust, or conspiracy in limitation of interstate and foreign trade. The case was between Standard Oil of New Jersey and the United States. The United States Supreme Court was the one trying Standard Oil. In the court case the actions of Standard Oil and the owner John Rockefeller were being reviewed. These actions are what determined the decision of what would happen to the fate of Standard Oil. The attorney for the respondent in this case was John C. Milburn. John C. Milburn argued that Rockefeller never wanted to drive others out of market and was seeking out business …show more content…
Kellogg argued that Rockefeller had gained his business which had also a monopoly by threats and under the table deals with railroad companies. By doing this it gave Rockefeller an advantage over his competition. He would then state that the success of profits were do to efficiency and business tactics and never reflected the price of the oil. Also that it was never handed down to the consumer. Therefore Standard Oil would continue to see high profits. These action were considered unreasonable and immoral. On May 15, 1911 a decision on the fate of Standard Oil has been made. Chief Justice Edward White wrote for the majority. The court decision was that Standard Oil was taking action in “restraint to trade and commerce petroleum.” Chief Justice White stated, “ Attempt to control the free market through fixed pricing, combinations or monopolies, and seeking to eliminate competition will be classified as unreasonable and illegal”(Standard) Standard Oil was forced to break down into 33 different companies. Anyone who owned a stock in the companies were given a percent of stock in each company equal to the one of Standard Oil. As a result of all of this Rockefeller’s wealth nearly tripled. His wealth went to from $300 million to $900 million as a result. This happened because he was receiving 25% of stock from each of the companies (Standard). After about three years John Rockefeller became the world's first …show more content…
Many people criticized Kellogg for the argument he made in court. Also they wanted to know the reasoning for the decision. Tired of all of the criticism that he was receiving he decided to write a paper titled , “ Results of the Standard Oil Decision.” This paper reviews how the decision of breaking down Standard Oil into 33 separate companies helped other businesses. He also bring back to play that Standard Oil was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust act and that their action were immoral (Frank). Frank also said that wealth is the most powerful things in the world and that it should be controlled so that it cannot be used to injure others. Another practice that Standard Oil could no longer take practice in is lowering and raising
In 1911 the biggest oil industry was being tried for going against the Sherman Antitrust Act. The Sherman Antitrust Act is a law forbidding contract, trust, or conspiracy in limitation of interstate and foreign trade. The case was between Standard Oil of New Jersey and the United States. The United States Supreme Court was the one trying Standard Oil. In the court case the actions of Standard Oil and the owner John Rockefeller were being reviewed. These actions are what determined the decision of what would happen to the fate of Standard Oil. The attorney for the respondent in this case was John C. Milburn. John C. Milburn argued that Rockefeller never wanted to drive others out of market and was seeking out business …show more content…
Kellogg argued that Rockefeller had gained his business which had also a monopoly by threats and under the table deals with railroad companies. By doing this it gave Rockefeller an advantage over his competition. He would then state that the success of profits were do to efficiency and business tactics and never reflected the price of the oil. Also that it was never handed down to the consumer. Therefore Standard Oil would continue to see high profits. These action were considered unreasonable and immoral. On May 15, 1911 a decision on the fate of Standard Oil has been made. Chief Justice Edward White wrote for the majority. The court decision was that Standard Oil was taking action in “restraint to trade and commerce petroleum.” Chief Justice White stated, “ Attempt to control the free market through fixed pricing, combinations or monopolies, and seeking to eliminate competition will be classified as unreasonable and illegal”(Standard) Standard Oil was forced to break down into 33 different companies. Anyone who owned a stock in the companies were given a percent of stock in each company equal to the one of Standard Oil. As a result of all of this Rockefeller’s wealth nearly tripled. His wealth went to from $300 million to $900 million as a result. This happened because he was receiving 25% of stock from each of the companies (Standard). After about three years John Rockefeller became the world's first …show more content…
Many people criticized Kellogg for the argument he made in court. Also they wanted to know the reasoning for the decision. Tired of all of the criticism that he was receiving he decided to write a paper titled , “ Results of the Standard Oil Decision.” This paper reviews how the decision of breaking down Standard Oil into 33 separate companies helped other businesses. He also bring back to play that Standard Oil was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust act and that their action were immoral (Frank). Frank also said that wealth is the most powerful things in the world and that it should be controlled so that it cannot be used to injure others. Another practice that Standard Oil could no longer take practice in is lowering and raising