In Madison, Wis., last January, a jury chiefly comprised of farmers found 30 substantial members and 16 companies of the U. S. oil industry guilty of conspiring to raise and fix gasoline prices (TIME, Jan. 31). In the four months it took to arrive at that conclusion the Government prosecution and the industry's defense (there were 57 defense attorneys) together spent a total of about $3,000,000. In addition, conviction carried a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine or a year in jail for each executive and a $5,000 fine for each company. With motions for a new trial still under consideration,...
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