One of the most noted cases of corporation influence in politics was that of the election of Senator Henry B. Payne of Ohio. In 1886 the legislature of the state requested the United States Senate to investigate the election of Payne because of charges of Standard Oil influence. The debate over the case showed clearly the belief on the part of many that the Standard, which controlled "business, railroads, men and things" was also choosing United States senators. Senator Hoar raised the question whether the Standard was represented in the Senate and even in the Cabinet. In denying any connection with the Oil Company, Payne himself declared that no institution or association had been "to so large an expense in money" to accomplish his defeat when he was a candidate for election to the lower house. Popular suspicion seemed confirmed, therefore, that the Company was taking an active share in government. Whether the trust was for or against Payne made little difference. A complaint that brought the trust problem to the attention of many who were not interested in its other aspects was the treatment accorded independent producers. The rough-shod methods employed by the Standard Oil Company, the Diamond Match Company and the coal operators were concretely illustrated in many a city and town by such incidents as that of a Pennsylvania butcher mentioned by Lloyd. An agent of the great meat slaughtering firms ordered the butcher to cease slaughtering cattle, and when he refused the agent informed him that his business would be destroyed. He then found himself unable to buy any meat whatever from Chicago, the meat-packing center, and discovered that the railroad would not furnish cars to transport his supplies. Faced by such overwhelming force, the independent producer was generally compelled to give way to the demands of the big concerns or be driven to the wall. The helplessness of the individual under such conditions was strikingly expressed by Mr. Justice Harlan of the Supreme Court in a decision in a suit against the Standard Oil Company: All who recall the condition of the country in 1890 will remember that there was everywhere, among the people generally, a deep feeling of unrest. The Nation had been rid of human slavery ... but the conviction was universal that the country was in real danger from another kind of slavery sought to be fastened on the American people, namely, the slavery that would result from aggregations of capital in the hands of a few ... controlling, for their own ... advantage exclusively, the entire business of the country, including the production and sale of the necessaries of life.