The New York herald., 1878-11-04
OIL IN POLITICS.

rHE ISSUES OF THE CAMPAIGN IN WESTERN
PRNNsYLvANIA--wARA AGAINST CORPORATIONS
CHARTERED COMMON CARRIERS AMENABLE TO
THE LAW OF IMPARTIAL SERVICE TO ALL
CUSTOMERS CLOSELY CUES
TONED.
TrTUsvuLE Pa, Oct. 81, 1873
This region of country, may say. is now the
home of the independent and Of the smasher Of
slates The one thing that oil country
scarcely anything about is the old party lines. What
brings the old parties into discredi in this section
anything else has been the readiness of the
representatives of either party to bow to the behests
Of corporations in this State. and in speaking in
this way OF corporations much else is carried in
the mind than the all-pervading Pennsylvania Rail-
road Company-reaching north, south, east and west
throughout Pennsylvania. There other corpora
tions the oil would like to strike at by his vote.
and these the New York Central and the New York.
Lake Erie and Western Railroad companies and the
Standard Oil Company Of Ohio. the latter corporation
doing its business mostly in Pennsylvania and New
York. This company has the special wrath of the oil
man. and the oil strikes right and left in his en-
deavors to hit it, There is no such thing as pro-
nounced Standard man known in the politics OF Penn
sylvania and the questions bear upon there being
any tenderness slowed away in mans bosom for the
Standard any probability OF their being anything in
his nature that would render him open to Standard
Inducements and the probable degree of antiStandard
feeling that would actuate him provided he should
get into Office The Standard stands at the head Of
the list of corporations that have immense amount
of anmus developed toward them, but the feeling is
greatly anti-corporation as well anti-Standard.
and pervades strongly counties Of North
western Pennsylvania that have population border
ing 900 people, and the cities OF Pittsburg and
Allegheny and considerable country roundabout.
People of Pennsylvania becoming extensively i'm
bued with the idea that they corporation ridden
and ring ridden, and the idea is taking form within
the State that the domination of the State by rings is
well understood outside of the State and that before
the country at large Pennsylvania is being consider
ably disgraced thereby. The diagnosis of disease it
certainly very important to understand before heal
ing the disease and the voters the doctors in
this it is healthy sign that they are becoming
ognizant OF and sensitive to the condition of their
politics. and that the eaven is beginning to work for
change
Pennsylvania has been unfortunate in not having
powerful pretty evenly matched against each
other for its offices and dictate its legisla
don and in this onesidedness and in the consequent
continuance in power of the same selfish interests has
rested the opportunity for unusual corruption aud
aebasenient OF politics.
think it is safe to conclude that the oil region is
taking step that may prove of great importance in
that the people of the oil region making fight for
principle q civilization that implanted in the
principle is that where carriers receive from
the State the right of eminent domain this
right places them under obligations 70 the whole peo-
pie of the State to treat them evenly in the services
they are able to perform from the granting OF that
right; III other words, common carriers can legally
make no discrimination i'll freights IL favor OF one
citizen set OF citizens against other citizens
There is no doubt, however that railroads in all
businesses have made serious nractions of this prn
ciple and that they have regard almost
essential condition Of their business that they should
disregard it, The disregard Of this important pripci
the transportation of petroleum than III amy other
case and this disregard has now become SO odious
and oppressive by its results that the people of the oil
country have arisen almost to restore the
supremacy Of this infracted law.
POWER THE OIL MoNoPoLIsrS.
The conditions to which freight determinations
have brought the oil country and the oil business is
that the party allied with the determinations are
highly successful and immensely wealthy, and all
other parties are correspondingly unsuccessful and
comparatively poor. There is refintment about the
determinations in oil freights that one probably.
beforehand could have thought possible. but which.
seeing we have to believe. The condition Is this:-
The combination shippers. who and have been for
years getting the benefit OF the determinations, are
the dicttors to the carriers themselves the ship
pers most OF the il which the commodity IS
shipped, and they select the lines over which
they viii their loaded This traiic for the
seaboard goes over the New York Central, the New
York, Lake Erie and Westerns the Pennsylvania and
the Baltimore and Ohio railroads-only in nconsid
cradle degree over the latter option OF the
shippers to great extent which Of these lines they
with their cars-the created has become greater
than the creator If of these lines u recGlcran
age from it and the offending generally
comes back pentent and submissive In 1877
about eleven million barrels Of crude petroleum
went from the Pennsylyaaia 81 regions TO
the seaboard and this year about tie same
quantity has gone forward last for corresponding
time. Two OF the three most important roads are at
almost all times competent 10 do the entire business.
hence road has the power u SGT aside this or
der of business. and the roads afraid to trust
each other and to incur the enmity Of the combna-
on shippers that this arrangement has held fast for
. long time. and there IL now no appearance OF
break in il from within. A highly favored feature
about this Is that it is generally believed that the ship
pers squeeze the railroads down to pttance for
lreghfs. BY means of this lever OF transportation
the shippers dictate their margin between
oil in the region and oil at the seaboard
and so make producers and consumers OF petroleum
render immense tribute to thcm and railroad capital
itself becomes their stanch supporter and while rail-
road stockholders and petroleum producers grovel
In poverty these shippers receive unparalleled prOhts
and reve in ostentatous wealth. In connection with
these shipments the shippers do the refining OF PEE
troleum with their works located at Cleveland Titus
ville Oil City, Pittsburg, Baltimore Philadelphia and
New York, the immense advantages which have come
them from their shipments having enabled them to
buy out or drive out nearly every other firm engaged
Va the business.
THE DEMAND or THE OIL PnopUcERs.
II s this condition of things that t1 people Of the
oil country will aim to do everything they can To
remedy Mt the polls Tuesday next. They may not be
able go far this time but their faces turned ia
this direction and for their futures sake and for
the sake OF the future the oil business they de-
terInined not to look back. In understanding the
situation given above can be found the solution OF
the somewhat anomalous condition OF politics in
the oil country. The people OF this country feel
that their rulers and their laws owe u To them
10 release them from the conditions that the
very important petroleum industry has got
into. and which has only come by infrac-
ton Of the law OF common carriers giving
advantages 10 some citizens which they do not to
others. Let oil transportation be open and COM
~ all, and the refining industry would be an inn
mcnsely diversified one: tho petroleum producer
would receive the benefit of competing buyers, rail
road trunk lines would not be catspaws for one COM
pany but could establish their rates for freight
and still be able to receive business.
OIL IN THE POLITICAL WAVES.
To meet the oil freight determinations, so thor
oughly grounded in the present method OF doing
business at the polls. is not easy task but IL the
politicians OF this State that the oil interests
sufficiently aroused to poll considerable vote to-
gethcr the oil win be something for them 10 cater
to in their future action.
CANDIDATES INDoRsED.
The Petroleum Producers Union, which has tho
memberSlip o a larYc number OF producers and