, 1873-01-01

Wv AA@* aSN t@"]k0@s ~ 311~-0H
Of oxtor4io1, is thoroughly ra1niaod through tho |
whole railroad System. It will require some-
thing stronger than d merchants union to break |
1t up.
|
PROTECTION As AN INDIVIDUAL ENTER
PRISE
A number Of private citizonH, constituting
what is known as tho Petroleum producors'
Association, 1ave entered into contract with a
number OF othor priyato citizens, constituting
tho Petroleum Ronnors' Association. to assume
tho functions Of Government, and to dcclaro d
PROFESSIONALS over tho industry Of oilproduoing.
The cauao Of this remarkable proceeding llas
beon, Tint the petroleum produced in tho penn-
sylvania oil regions, boing largely III excess Of
tho demand, has, for sou,o tno paat, failed to
yield profit. As this was not tho
result Of any foreign competition, there waa no
opportunity to provide tho nocosgary protection
by Congressional enactment, and tho producers
and reflnors have concluded to secure tho same
advantages enjoyed by woo}lon manufacturers or
iron producers through 1, combination Of their
own. Tho Rofiuora' Association, OH tho one
hand, l,avo agreed to take all tho crude oil
which tho producors' Association pump, ut a
prico Of not loas than ST. per barrel when tho
price Of rofined oil IL 90 cents gallon, or loss,
aud ut rs ccnta per barrel additional for every
| advance Of ono cent per gallon on tue price Of
rofinod oil. Tho Producers Association, on tue
| othor hand, agroo: /. That, from Dec.
| % to July !, no now wells ahali bo
| drilled; 2. That tho use Of artificial moana to
| increase production shall be discontinued 8.
| That wells now drilling shall auspond work
twelve hours per day; ana 1. That all wells
pumping moro than ton bnrrcla per day ala1l bo
run only twclvo hours In tho twenty-four. Tie
two associations havo chosen n Comptroller,
who shall supervise Tho affairs Of both associa-
tionB, and keep tho individual mombors down to
their ngroornent.
| The whole project is ono TO limit production
in IN unnatural manner, aud tl,oro arc NUM-
bor Of roasous why 1t cannot DO expected to suc-
coed. In tho first p1ace, the associations do not
possess tho powers Of Government. They can-
not enforce tho rules thoy have lnid down. Con-
gross may limit supplies In articles whore thoro
is foreign competition by imposing duties, Which
enable tho manufacturers or producers OF these
articles to maintain certain prices. This is n
matter Of law which cannot ho ovadad. But If
an oil producer, who now belongs to tho asHo-
cintiou, discovers ttat his we'll will pump twonty
barrels dny, while tho ru1os Of tho association
limit him practically to ton barrels, ho will be
pretty apt to withdraw from the association, Or
secretly to break over tho ruos, as soon aB tho
! 1ovr n
There is no legal ponalty attached to my such
infringement of tho regulations, mud ho will avail
himself OF this opportunity 10 mako money Of
which ho Is voluntarily dopriving himself. II it
were possible for tho Roflnors' Association to in-
cludo all the ro1uers in tho country, and for tho
Producers Association to include nll tho pro-
ducers in tho country and then, if oyery rcflner
aud producer would abilo by rules TINT have no
legal force, it IL possible that oil-productlon
might bo limited and pricos DO corrcspondingly
increased. ThoHo contingencies, however, are
too ronoto for SERIOUS contemplation. It mas
bo unproAtablc to pump d vol which only pro.
duces ten barrels day, whom oil is selling at Q
price which will mako 1t profitable tt
pump q we'll that PRODUCES twonty bar
rolls, OF to allow tho flowing Of vol
that produces fifty or q hundred barrela u da,
spontaneously. At such d juncturo 1t is unroa
aonablo to suppose that tho man who owns ths
twonty-barrol or ffty-barro we'll will yoluntaril.
, uacrfco hia profits for the benefit Of tho maj
who OWNS the ten-barrol VOL. Human naturoi
not 30 constituted. DcedoB, tho elonaent O
, foreign competition ,nay possibly ontor into th
contest. II tho prico Of erudo oil should DO rsll
up by this Petroleum Syndicate to 20 or 81
barrel, it may be profitable to start uptho Canad
wolla again, apply tho torpodoes to old wel]s p,l
mp derrioks for now oucs, aud TAX
advantage Of tho new range Of prices. Pro
lection las hard road to travol with Qovorn
1nent at the back OF 1t; without Government t
austain it, it must inevitably auccumb to til
natufal lava Of supply aud demand.
1t is obvious TINT tho only WY III which livin
prices cau DO secured for crulo oil Is to limit th
production, which is now excessive. But it /
equally obvious that tho only way in which thi
oxcogs can DO curtaicd, in fact, Is for tloao VII
"a find their wolls Improbable to giyo thom VI
y and mako room for those whose betor fortnn
- or superior Judgment has given thor
- better wells. Tho natural course Of thing
- will lead to this result. Thero waa timo whe
thousands Of barrels Of oil flowed daily into th
- Alloghany River, moro worthless than it Is nov
~ becauso its present usos wore unknown. Who
- tho oil became valuable, there was rush Of car
ital to that region altogether unparalleled in til
y development of any other Of tho country8 IT
!" aourcoa. It ia only natural that oi-producin
- now should suffer for this excessive dovelol
. mont; and no combination or individual devit
= can permanently disturb tho law OF supply Ill
~ demand, or artif1cally raise tho price of Q
u above tho figure which TINT law establishes.
10