The
National Linseed Oil Trust of
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
was a major
company trustA trust company is a corporation, especially a commercial bank, organized to perform the fiduciary of trusts and agencies. It is normally owned by one of three types of structures: an independent partnership, a bank, or a law firm, each of which specializes in being a trustee of various kinds of...
formed in 1885 to protect
linseedFlax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. This is called as Agasi/Akshi in Kannada, Jawas/Javas or Alashi in Marathi...
interests in the United States. Once used extensively in painting,
linseed oilLinseed oil, also known as "flax seed oil" is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction....
today is known almost exclusively as flax. The Trust was dissolved in 1920 after the U.S. Department of Justice charged they broke the
Sherman Antitrust ActThe Sherman Antitrust Act requires the United States Federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies and organizations suspected of violating the Act...
. Omaha millionaire Clark Woodman was an influential director on the board.
Viewed today as one of many imitators of the Standard Oil Company, the Linseed Oil Trust's peers included the Cotton Oil Trust, Lead Smeltering Trust and the Whiskey Trust.
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The
National Linseed Oil Trust of
St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. With an estimated population of 354,361 in 2008, it is the principal municipality of Greater St. Louis, population 2,866,517, the largest urban area in Missouri and sixteenth largest in the United States...
was a major
company trustA trust company is a corporation, especially a commercial bank, organized to perform the fiduciary of trusts and agencies. It is normally owned by one of three types of structures: an independent partnership, a bank, or a law firm, each of which specializes in being a trustee of various kinds of...
formed in 1885 to protect
linseedFlax is a member of the genus Linum in the family Linaceae. It is native to the region extending from the eastern Mediterranean to India and was probably first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent. This is called as Agasi/Akshi in Kannada, Jawas/Javas or Alashi in Marathi...
interests in the United States. Once used extensively in painting,
linseed oilLinseed oil, also known as "flax seed oil" is a clear to yellowish oil obtained from the dried ripe seeds of the flax plant . The oil is obtained by cold pressing, sometimes followed by solvent extraction....
today is known almost exclusively as flax. The Trust was dissolved in 1920 after the U.S. Department of Justice charged they broke the
Sherman Antitrust ActThe Sherman Antitrust Act requires the United States Federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies and organizations suspected of violating the Act...
. Omaha millionaire Clark Woodman was an influential director on the board.
History
Viewed today as one of many imitators of the Standard Oil Company, the Linseed Oil Trust's peers included the Cotton Oil Trust, Lead Smeltering Trust and the Whiskey Trust. At a peak in 1898 the Trust held $6,000,000 in assets over liabilities. An early report by one of the founders stated that the Trust was initially founded for the social benefit of the members.
Lawsuit
The US Department of Justice brought suit against the Trust for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act. Several co-defendants were named, including the National Lead Company, Archer-Daniels Manufacturing Company, William O. Goodrich Company and the
Sherwin-Williams CompanyThe Sherwin-Williams Company is an American Fortune 500 company in the general building materials industry. The company primarily engages in the manufacture, distribution, and sale of coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers primarily in North and...
. The suit alleged all of these companies were acting in
collusionCollusion is an agreement, usually secretive, which occurs between two or more persons to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading, or defrauding others of their legal rights, or to obtain an objective forbidden by law typically by defrauding or gaining an unfair advantage . It is an...
to raise prices, citing a spike in linseed oil costs between 1916 and 1918, when the price rose from $.50 per gallon to $1.80.