Rockefeller v. Stewart

John Davison Rockefeller Jr., 55, is 5 ft, 10 in. tall, weighs 170 Ibs., and has six children. As a youngster he broke stone and split wood on his father's estate in Cleveland for 15-c- an hour, also earned 5-c- an hour for practicing on the violin. Now he keeps in condition by playing squash and using gymnasium apparatus. He is one of the quietest men in the public eye.

Col. Robert Wright Stewart, 62, is 6 ft., 1 in. tall, weighs 240 Ibs., and has four children. As a youngster he drove oxen on his father's farm near Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Now he plays golf and goes to prize fights. He is one of the burliest and most outspoken men in the public eye.

These two able-bodied men have clashed in what, if ever there was one, is a Battle of the Century. In the first two weeks, it has involved tycoons from coast to coast, quiet old estates, many a small John Stockholder, thousands of employes, Wall Street, La Salle Street, and a department of the U. S. Government.

The lineup, last week, was as follows: Rockefeller Jr.

Rockefeller Sr. Stewart

Sutherland Seubert & directors

Giannini Majority of employes

Morgan S. H. B. Payne Harkness

Doubtful or Neutral

Mellon

Payne Whitney estate

Pratt estate

American Petroleum Institute

The clash is to determine whether or not Col. Stewart shall be re-elected as chairman of the board of directors of Standard Oil Co. of Indiana, at the annual meeting of stockholders in Whiting, Ind., on March 7. Stockholders of record of Feb. 5 will be entitled to vote or send proxies. Standard Oil Co. of Indiana has issued 9,160,000 shares of capital stock, which are now held by some 58,000 persons or companies.

The story, round by round, interlude by interlude:

Round 1. Col. Stewart testified before the U. S. Senate Committee on Public Lands concerning the oil scandals. At first he said: "I never had anything to do with the distribution of any bonds [of the Continental Trading Co.] . . . I don't know anything about it." Later he said: "I know about the disposition of $759,500 of these bonds." The Senate charged Col. Stewart with perjury and contempt. He was acquitted of both charges, in jury trials last year.

Round 2. Mr. Rockefeller Jr., a minority stockholder in Standard Oil Co. of Indiana, examined Col. Stewart's testimony, talked with him, asked him to resign as chairman of the board. According to Mr. Rockefeller Jr., Col. Stewart promised to comply with this request. Nine months passed and Col. Stewart did not resign, in fact refused to resign. Mr. Rockefeller Jr. sailed for Egypt last fortnight, but left behind him a letter to stockholders, expressing loss of confidence in Col. Stewart and asking for proxies to oust him. In Chicago, Col. Stewart replied: "If the Rockefellers want to fight, I'll show them how to fight" (TIME, Jan. 21).

Interlude. The Chicago Tribune said in its leading editorial: "Neither Mr. Rockefeller nor Col. Stewart has yet kissed a baby, but the canvass has only begun."

Round 3. President Edward G. Seubert and the directors of Standard Oil Co. of Indiana voted unanimously to support Col. Stewart, asked stockholders to do the same. The majority of employe-stock-holders are supporting Col. Stewart, either because they feel that he has made the company prosper or because they fear for their jobs. Standard Oil of Indiana profits for 1928 were estimated at $80,000,000, or about $9 a share. At the end of this round, Col. Stewart was a 2 to 1 betting favorite.

Interlude. On the New York Curb, Standard Oil of Indiana stock jumped to a new high of 103 1/2, partly because of ill-founded rumors that Mr. Rockefeller Jr. and Col. Stewart were buying. Actually, the total turnover on the Curb was only one per cent of Standard Oil of Indiana stock; and the big warriors were not bothering with that tiny fraction. The stock dropped to 95 at the end of the week.

Round 4. Enter one branch of the U. S. Government, in the form of a man who is seldom news: Howard Sutherland, acting Alien Property Custodian. Said he: "I did as my judgment and conscience dictated." His deed was to support Mr. Rockefeller Jr. with proxies for 12,000 shares of Standard Oil of Indiana stock, which had been seized from Germans and Austrians during the World War and for which Mr. Sutherland is sole trustee.

Round 5. Enter the biggest banker of the Far West, Amadeo Peter Giannini of San Francisco, with proxies for 32,000 shares for Mr. Rockefeller Jr.

Round 6. Securely tucked in many a vault, seldom touched and earning quietly, are large blocks of Standard Oil of Indiana stock--the property of families of early Standard Oil partners, Harkness, Pratt, Brewster, Payne, Flagler, Rogers, etc. On these, Mr. Rockefeller Jr. confidently counts for support. S. H. B. Payne, however, came out for Col. Stewart. The Payne Whitney and Pratt estates remained doubtful, last week. The University of Chicago (object of many Rockefeller benefactions) was expected to use its 30,000 shares for the-good-of-the-family.

Round 7. The mighty house of J. P. Morgan & Co. was authoritatively said to be advising clients to support Mr. Rockefeller Jr. Secretary of the Treasury Andrew W. Mellon insisted that the Mellon interests were neutral, when a Mellon-Stewart rumor persisted.

Round 8. The Twentieth Century Limited pulled into Grand Central Station, Manhattan, and a man whose figure and stride made other travelers look like weaklings, smiled at reporters and told them to follow him into the Hotel Biltmore. There, the onetime Rooseveltian Rough Rider named Robert Wright Stewart sat in a little blue chair and said: "In the third place, I sincerely hope that Mr. Rockefeller is having a very nice time on his trip abroad."

"Somehow, Colonel," said a reporter with a memory, "that makes one think of what E. H. Harriman was reported to have said when Colonel Roosevelt started on his African hunting tour: 'I hope a lion bites him.' "

On one other point, Col. Stewart was insistent, almost dramatic; he refused to believe that John D. Rockefeller Sr. is opposed to him.

Round 9. Mr. Rockefeller Sr., weight 135 lbs., was down at Ormond Beach, Fla., last week, playing a little golf and enjoying the religiously regular daily schedule that has kept him alive to the age of 89 1/2 years. He made no public statement on his son's battle with Col. Stewart, although his routine was likely to suffer interruption. For there was not a shadow of a doubt that he was heart and soul for the son, upon whom rests all affairs of Rockefeller fortune and philanthropy, and who sinks to his knees every night to ask God that he may be more like his father.

Odds. At the end of the week, the odds shifted to even money. The New York Herald Tribune went so far as to say in a new story: "John D. Rockefeller Jr. has won the fight . . . according to one of New York's outstanding petroleum authorities who is close to the affairs of the industry." And Col. Stewart's manner and statements remained confident.