The Great Oil Octopus board of the German Vacuum Oil Company, and had nothing to do with the Hamburg branch. At the end of 1906 or the beginning of 1907 the accused had, of course, learnt of the changes being made in the brandings from the then manager of the Hamburg branch, Earnshaw. But at that time also the accused had nothing to do with the Hamburg branch office, and was not called upon to prevent what was in his view an incorrect rebranding. Also, he had nothing to do himself with the changing of the brand. It has not been proved that after the accused had taken a seat upon the board of the German Vacuum Oil Company that the rebranding of " Fusoline " as " Vacuoline " was still carried out with the knowledge and consent of the accused.
As to the rebranding of the cheaper descriptions of oil "Etna " and " Fusoline " as " Gas Engine E and F " and " Gas Engine F and Heavy " respectively, the preliminary inquiry has tended to show that " Gas Engine I and Heavy" consist of different components to the other brands, and are consequently not identical with them.
The brands "Etna " and " Gas Engine E " are, of course, identical, as is " Fusoline " and " Gas Engine F." But a fraudulent method of trading could only be found to exist in the different branding if it were established that these like descriptions were delivered under different brandings and different prices to one and the same customer. It has not been possible to establish that. The accused also cannot rebut the allegation that he gave it as his opinion that the differentia tion in prices was justified by the different way in which the two oils were used, the higher running expenses for " Gas Engine E and F," and greater risk encountered by the users of these two brands.
Hamburg, May 30, 1910.
The Landgericht, Second Criminal Chamber, (Signed) GOSLICII, LOIIMBYER, SICK. For the correctness of the copy : Hamburg, July 9, 1910.
The Chancery of Public Prosecution, (Signed) Voss, Chancery Clerk.
178 It will be seen at once that the judgment exculpates Mr. Quarles personally, but obviously inculpates the German Vacuum Oil Company, by assuming that the practices alleged had taken place, though there was not evidence to connect Mr. Quarles with them.
Mr. Hildebrandt makes great capital, in a pamphlet he has published, out of the regular Standard Oil practice of bribery, with which the German public seems to have been quite unfamiliar, but in which their education must now have been pretty well completed, to judge from the mass of evidence adduced in the Hildebrandt book. Some of it is entertaining
enough and edifying enough for British con sumption, particularly as it relates to a cousin German of one of our own Standard Oil sub-. sidiaries. Here is the text of an affidavit made by Mr. Hans Schnell, who had formerly been a representative of the German Vacuum Oil Company :— I, the undersigned, hereby declare and am ready to testify on oath that from September 15, 1906, to March 31, 1908, I was in the employ of the German Vacuum Oil Company , of Hamburg, as representative for the Dresden branch, and later for Lower Silesia, on a fixed salary of 200 marks a month and also confidential expenditure and commission. This commis sion I had for the most part to pay over to machine-men, partly in cash, partly in goods, in order to bring off new business, and in some cases to maintain business relations heretofore existing. I was told by Mr. Naerger, the corre spondent for Breslau, in the branch office in that city of the German Vacuum Oil Company of Hamburg, the names of the firms whose machine-men were to receive bribes from me. Also Mr. A. S. Mie, of Dresden, director of the Vacuum Oil Company, told me in a way that could not be misunderstood that I was to expend these commissions in this way, and that if I had paid over no bribes in money or goods to the machine men of the firms I had to call on I would have had scarcely any new orders, and would have lost the old business con nection.
Dresden, November 4, 1909.
(Signed) Ham SCHNELL.
The above signature of Mr. Hans Schnell, Wilhelmruh, near Berlin, merchant, was done in my presence, and I hereby officially certify that it is genuine.
Dresden, November 5, 1909.
(Signed) HORST VON MIIELLER-BERNRCR, Royal Saxon Notary, Dresden.
In further illustration of Mr. Mie's efforts, Herr F. Hildebrandt publishes a photographed bill of expenses incurred by that gentleman in establishing and keeping up the German Vacuum Oil Company's business connections, and no doubt incidentally of establishing a reputation for him self among engineers and machine-men generally of being a thoroughly jolly fellow. This document will, perhaps, help us to understand why so many working engineers select the Vacuum oils, when no chemical test known to science will indicate any superiority. Its trans lation is as follows :— M.