Complex sentence: In the early 1870s, Pratt and Rogers became involved in conflicts with John D. Rockefeller's South Improvement Company, designed to obtain favorable net rates from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and other railroads through a secret system of rebates.
Split into simpler sentences: In the early 1870s, Pratt and Rogers became involved in conflicts with John D. Rockefeller's South Improvement Company. Rockefeller worked to obtain favorable net rates from the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and other railroads through a secret system of rebates.