The Portland daily press., 1872-03-26
THE PRESS.
..The South improvement Monopoly

from the Buffalo Express, zo'nI
We have heretofore given the man iea-
,,,ros IF the great Oil Movement Complna-
t;o, nv which the oil-producmg and oil
refining business was sought to be controlled
in a single interest, but as meeting is soon
m he held in this city to consider what steps
are necessary to thwart the designs of the or
ganization, we briefly reproduce what are be-
lieved to be the origin, object and aim of this
incorporation. 1t is great railroad monop-
oily, formed to control the carrying trade OF
of the petroleum oil business. The company
was chartered by the Pennsylvania LeSisia-
ture in 1870, with nominal capital OF Slo,-
100000. During 1871 the cooperation OF the
four great trunk lines-the Pennsylvania, the
Erie the New York Central, and the Balti-
more and Ohio Companies-was secured by
an agreement on the following basis:
The Erie and New York Central Railways
to be accorded each twenty-seven and a half
per cent, and the Pennsylvania Central, in
Guiding the Baltimore and Ohio interest, for
ty-five per cent. of the addition to the freight
tariff over the old rates. which exaction was
to be rendered possible by the consolidation.
The first advance in freights was made two
months ago, and on the first Of February an
other advance was. ANNOUNCED. Thus far no
decided opposition was made; but when on
Monday, the 10th inst, a still further ad-
vance was made, the opposition began to be
earnest. The following table shows the pres
ent situation
old az af n S SsTTs a. Old "a a. in S Ss1k;
To Boston, $50 $50 I45 26s
The Cleveland and Pittsburgh refners, who
are connected with the monopoly, receive
drawback of 81 per barrel, while refined oil
from Titusville must now pay freight charge
OF more than two and half cents gallon,
81 is to 81 IS per barrel more than before.
The railroad companies get remunerative
profit on the oil sent eastward from the re-
refineries of the Company" while the extra
tariff is literally extorted from the refneries
of the 1itusville region. The South I'm
provement Company having obtained abso-
lutte control of the entire oil-producing dis
trict, can buy oil ON its own account and by
creating scarcity of the product in the East
em markets, so, enhance the price as to Sc
cure an enormous profit in addition to the
overcharge for freight.
The oil producers Of the oil region are d.
rectly interested in defeating the expressions
and extortions of this gigantic monopoly, by
building this railroad to Buffalo, which shall
be by its charter incapable of charging high
rates of freight on their product. Then the
canal during the navigation season will carry
it east at very low rates to a market, and in
the winter it can be refined and sent from
Buffalo, through Canada, on the Grand
Trunk railroad to the seaboard. The refiners
of oildom are interested in building the rail-
road to Buffalo from Titusville, as these re-
liners can thereby get coal to use there, and
can send their refined oil the same routes to
the Eastern markets; and if they do join the
city of Buffalo in building the road, the great
South Improvement monopoly is overthrow,
and the abnormal condition of things at
Cleveland and Pittsburg abolished, and Buffa-
10 set on footing equal to any point for re-
filming oil in addition to its increased business
by way of transshipment.