Page:The History of the Standard Oil Company Vol 1.djvu/457

Rh and storage, by thereby forcing competing lines to sell to them at a loss, by issuing certificates or accepted orders of pipe-line companies in violation of law not representing the petroleum in the custody of said corporations of the said defendants, and placing such certificates upon the market, thereby causing an apparent increase in the quantity of oil in the market for sale and depressing the price of crude petroleum by making false and fictitious reports of stock of petroleum in the custody of the United Pipe Lines, a corporation of which the defendants are the owners and which they control, by violating the laws relative to making reports of business of the said pipe-line company; by neglecting and refusing to make the required oath thereto, by destroying refineries purchased by them at less than their value, of those they had compelled to sell to them by the fraudulent acts aforesaid, by hiring and paying salaries to men to remain out of business for a term of years, and to act as spies for the said defendants and the corporations and firms of which they are members; by selling crude and refined petroleum at less than its cost to them; by increasing the production by entering into agreements relative to the price the said defendants and the corporations and firms of which they were members; by threatening common carriers with destruction of the business of carrying oil, if they carried for others than themselves, and those associated with them, or permitted other pipe-line companies to deliver petroleum to them, or railroads to carry to them; by means of said threats to prevent the building or operation of competing lines of pipe or railroad for transportation of petroleum; by refusing to store petroleum in tanks owned by individuals for them, and by filling such tanks with their own oil, thereby causing a waste and loss both of petroleum and in the price obtained; by refusals to the citizens of Clarion County and elsewhere, at the several localities named, to transport or store crude petroleum.

. All of the evidence hereinbefore offered in support of the first count.

. All of the evidence hereinbefore stated to be offered in support of the first and second counts, and, in addition thereto, evidence of purchase of refineries under false representations; that refiners were forced to sell by reasons of enormous rebates, fraudulently obtained from railroad companies, as hereinbefore stated, the business being thereby, and not otherwise, rendered unprofitable to such refineries as could not obtain said rebates, commissions and allowances, they being all in the said business, except the said defendants, and the firms and corporations of which they were members.

. All the evidence hereinbefore stated to be offered in support of the first, second and the third counts, and, in addition thereto, that the said defendants and their agents diverted traffic from the Allegheny Valley Railroad Company by threatening the said company and those who were delivering petroleum to it for transportation, with loss and injury to their business, and by shipping themselves over other railroads, unless the said Allegheny Valley Railroad Company would allow them