The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-03-12
The Oil Monopoly.

The Oil Monopoly.
THE EXCITEMENT IN THE OIL REGIoNs-RE-
SUITS OF MEETING IN OIL cIrY-PIPEs TO BE
LAID TO LAKE ERIE AND THE OHIO RIVER.
Special Dispatch to the New York Times
TrTUsvnLE, Penn. March S.-The people
OF the Oil Regions, during the last eighteen
days, have been in state of profound excite
ment over the discovery of a great monopoly.
known as the Southern improvement Com
pany. The founders of the Company reside
outside OF the region, and with the exception.
perhaps, of few iron tanks for storing crude
oil, they own no property here. The Com
pany is incorporated under two acts passed in
the Pennsylvania Legislature-one in 1853
and the other, supplemental to the first, in
1870. The powers conferred by both these
acts pass extraordinary latitude in fact, the
limits cannot easily be defined. The princi-
pal parties to this combination, so far as has
been ascertained, are Messrs. b. III. Watson,
President of Germantown Railroad: Rocka-
teller d. Paine, of Cleveland Logan Fawcett, of
Pittsburg; j. P. Logan, of Philadelphia;
J. A. Bostwick, New York, together with the
three great railways running from the oil re-
gion to the seabord, viz: the Penneylvania
Central, the New York and Erie, and the
Atlantic and Great Western, and the New
York Central and Lake Shore, with all other
roads, under their control, which, running
from the heart of the oil region, constitute
their feeders. BY no other railways than
frTlnE linz 4.z.l "a.
way to the Atlantic Ocean. The Com
pany has been organized for nearly month
The precise nature of the organization, its
purposes, and the scope of its proposed oper-
ations, have never been published, but from
disclosures made by different parties who
were invited to enter the Company, and by
this means became acquainted with its real
founders as well as such generalfacts as are not
now derived from the members themselves,
the inhabitants of the oil region have sudden
ly been aroused to the discovery of most
formidable conspiracy organized to seize upon
and appropriate their peculiar property to its
own uses, all to be done under the cover of a
legal charter. The capital stock of this Com
pany, which may be increased indefinitely, at
present is S20,000,0 900, but behind this Is an
amount ten times as great. The oil freights
are to be distributed among the three lines,
giving to the Pennsylvania Central forty-fve
per cent, and to the New York and Erie and
the New-York Central each twenty-seven and
half per cent The established through
freight on oil to New York and Philadelphia
is to be ~ IS per barrel, of which there is to
be given to the Southern Improvement Com
pany rate OF 81 a barrel, thus completely
preventing competition in shipping oil from
any one outside of this Company But trans
portation OF oil is only part of the Com
pany's business. They have already purchas-
ed all the large refneries, both at Cleveland
and Pittsburg, and when once in possession
OF works sufficient in capacity to refine all the
product, they become masters of the situa-
ton. Nobody could compete with the Com
pany In refining and shipping OIL The Com
pany, thus standing between producers and
consumers, could dictate, both in buying and
selling, just such terms as should suit its
pleasure both producers and consumers
would be at its mercy. Such a combination
embracing in its membt r,hip three great rail-
road corporations, whose aims already grasp
the continent, if successful in its present con-
templated operation, would form the most
dangerous monopoly ever existing in Amer
lea.
Monday, Feb. 20, the freight on oil from
the Greek to the seaboard, without previous
notice to shippers, was increased over 81 per
barrel. The excitement ON the announce
ment OF this was intense. On the evening of
the 9th, the Paschah Opera-House, in Titus
vile, was literally packed from parquet to
dome by delegations from every part of the
region. A general committed, composed of
the best men representing the various pro-
ducing districts was formed, and after
considerable discussion the Convention ad-
journed to meet at Oil City, March /. On
the 2Sth ult. the General Committee met and
appointed from its number several sub-com-
mittees, to whom was specially intrusted the
preparation of such plans as might afford both
ImmAfilafQ rQrfna alaf Hhan
mittees worked resolutely and faithfully. The
meeting at Oil City was attended by another
large crowd. The Academy of Music was oc-
cup1ed by the Convention sitting six hours,
the best of order prevailing. The Committees
made but partial reports, which were discuss
ed in detail. The Convention adjourned to
meet at the Court House, in Franklin, on the
9Th following. This meeting was as largely
attended as the two former ones, with the
same good order. The best talent in the oil
region was employed in drafting plans for
uniting the Oil producers upon some common
scheme for their mutual protection. The
Committees were upon the construction of
new railroads, upon additional pipe lines, up
on procuring legislation, and for other OBJ
jects.
The meeting at Franklin did not complete
the work, and adjourned to meet again to-
day at Oil City. Night and day from that ad-
journment till last evening the Special Com
mittee continued their labors, and succeeded
in agreeing upon plan for organizing the
entire oil region. The General Committees
adopted their reports, which were unanimous
ly readopted to-day by the Convention at
large. All through the sittings of the Con-
vention there has been exhibited a large
amount of GOODNESS and patience on the part
of the great crowds in attendance. The
name of the orgar ization, adopted to-day, is
'The Producers Union" The plan of its
operations is such that not barrel of oil will
be allowed to go the Southern Improvement
Company. 1t will be found that class of
possess in sinking oil wells will show them
selves capable of making any sacrifice to repel
q conspiracy organized to take from them,
against their will, what they know to be sole
ly their own, an income amounting annually,
in the aggregate, to $4,000, 900.
Without going into details, it may be said
thatthe Southern Improvement Company shall
persevere in its attempts, both crude and re-
hned Oil for foreign export, will find its way
to the ocean, part by Lake Erie, the We'll
land Canal and Lake Ontario and st. Law
renee River, and part by river from Pitts
burg to the Gulf of Mexico, it being possible
to lay pipes for carrying the oil from the re-
gion both to Erie and Pittsburg. There is al
ready in the oil region capacity for refining
about one-half of the production. In the
meantime the Pennsylvania Legislature is be-
ing asked to give us relief
A QUEER CAsE.-Dr. Fl. Vogel, writing
from Germany to the Philadelphia Photo
grapher, relates queer case. A photograph
er made pictures of two brothers, VIII, refused
70 talya g. 81,