The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-03-22
OIL TRANSPORTATION.


yIcE-PIEsIDENr cAssArr, OF THE PENNsYLvA>
MA RAILROAD, DETAILS THE ARRANGEMENT
BETWEEN HIS COMPANY AND THE STANDARD
OIL COMPANY.
PHILADELPHIA, March 81, 1879.
The proceedings in the suit of the Oil Producers
Union vs. the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, et al.
for alleged freight Determinations in favor of ths
Standard Oil Company being application tor per-
manent Injunction restraining the defendants from
so discriminating continued to-day before j. B.
Sweitzer, General Examiner At the session yester-
day afternoon Vice President Cassatt, of the Penn
sylvania Railroad Company. called q witness.
He was examined on technical points regarding the
contracts with the Standard Company; the rebate
allowed that company for time was twenty-five and
a half cents on a barrel. but no preference was
shown.
At the session to-day Mr.. Shiras for the Com
monweath asked the witness If he did not say yes
terday that at the conference in July 1875 at Sara
toga. when the cut down to eighty cents
that these rates allowed to the Standard Oil
Company and not to outside shippers. Mr. Cassatt
replied that at that time the Standard the only
company shipping refined; the reduction in crude.
however, was only made for the Standard Oil Com.
pany and the interests controlled by it,
NO CONNECTION BETWEEN THE COMPANIES.
On cross-exanlination by Mr.. Macve agh the
witness said that to the best of his knowledge,
officer of the Pennsylvan Railroad at any time
interested in the Standard Oil Company nor officer
of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company; far
he knew neither Mr.. Vanderbilt representing the
New York Central nor Mr.. Jewett, representing the
Erie was in any way connected with the STAN
dard Oil Company.
A MEASURE sELr-DEFENcE.
In 1873 the first contract was made with the Stand
II. 'becauS0
at that time found that in order to maintain our
share of the business we had to do soething TO pro-
tect ourselves In that year the oil was carried by
the Empire Transportation Company. but the
contract was directly between the standard OIL
Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad. That
arrangement lasted until March. 1877. when
it ended at the request of the Standard
the Standard Company was also shipping the
New York Central and Erie railroads. and during the
latter part of the time the Baltimore and Ohio
road me latter road began to carry oil in 1876
The four trunk lines were from that time competi-
from that date. The Standard could and did ship
over the other roads to the exclusion of our
own road in 1877. We have carried barrel
of Standard oil at rate less than that paid
to the other roads, and there is why they
should pay any more than they would pay the other
trunk lines. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company
endeavored for months and months to maintain tho
Empire transportation Company in the oil trade.
and the other roads. together with the Standard Oil
Company, endeavoring to drive the transports
ton company out of that business. It this
count that the Standard threw up the of 1878
The gross value of the tonnage the Pennsylvania
Railroad Company was receiving from the Standard
in 1877 amounted to more than half Of the Pennsyl-
vania Railroads traffic. While the Standard was
shipping by other lines during the competition with
the trunk lines. the Pennsylvania Railroad Company
was carrying for refners outside the Standard Com
| pany. During the time the fight lasted each road
was cutting the other, and the Pennsylvania road
| had to compete for the traffic. know the other
| trunk lines carried the Standard oil at =
much lower rate than We carried for, and
much lower even than the rates at which
carried for the Standard subsequently, This contest
not injurious to the other lines as 1t to
Before the fight got fiftytwo per cent Of the
traffic to the seaboard The Baltimore and Ohio got
nine per cent and the balance was divided between
| the New York Central and Eric roads. During tho
| summer of 1877 the oil carried down
to the Ohio River and then tho
| Chcsapeake and Ohio Railroad to Richmond.
Oil was transported from Cleveland to Buffalo by
water and thence by canal to New York. The expira
ton of the fight was in October 1871 and after that
there oil shipped during that season. except
| by rail. A reduction of ten per cent made,
which lasted until May, 1878.
FOLLOWING LEAD OTHER ROADS.
We followed the lead OF the New York roads after
that in making concessions. Our agreement
that rates from the Standard company should be
as low those of the other lines. An effort was
made by the trunk lines to paying rates for
| oil shipments. The Pennsylvania Railroad tried
than to get the other lines to out tho
decisions made by themselves without the aid of the
Standard Oil Company. but the lines have no
power to compel the Standard to ship any par
| ticular line. 1t could only be done by Agreements
| with them. During the contest We got not much
more than thirty per cent OF the whole rehn-
ing business and the other lines must have got tho
remaining seventy per cent In answer to Mr.
Mcveagh, Mr.. Cassatt stated that the PENN
sylvania Railroad Company confined its entire
operations to transportation. and was not in
terested in any other way in the oil business
The difference is not in respect to the making of rates
by contract among the lines but in the manner OF
controlling seventy per cent OF the oil business
would be apt to choose its own route from the Oil
regions to the seaboard rather than submit to ths
railroad companies
The investigation was then adjourned