But by the early 1880s, the Bradford Era was owned and operated by businessmen with interests in Standard Oil and the Era became a mouthpiece for the company. In 1887, the Era Publishing Company was incorporated as a company and Patrick C. Boyle was the editor. Boyle and others used the paper to advocate against legislation, like the Billingsley Bill, which sought to regulate the oil industry. In addition, numerous editors for papers around the area were paid "pensions" for supporting Standard Oil interests in their printings. Boyle used the paper to attack people who opposed the monopoly of Standard Oil, such as Senator Lewis Emery . Emery grew so tired of the attacks that he had Boyle arrested for libel; Standard Oil paid to have him released from jail and to continue his slander campaign. Boyle was sent to Ohio in 1889 and put in charge of the Toledo Commercial.
