Daily Los Angeles herald., 1881-03-04

fBy II. D. Iloyd.l

Very few Of the forty millions OF
people 10 the United States who
busp Kerosene know that 70 pro-
ductlou, manufacture, and export,
~ price 1t home and abroad. have
boon controlled for years by a single
esfpoFation. 1.-The STANDARD Oil
Qoopany. This company began
II { partnership, In the early ears
- the civil war, between Samuel
Apdrsws aud John Rockefeller in
ID Cleveland. Rock efelier had been
3 bookkeeper In some interior town
Ohio, and had afterwards made
= nv thousand dollars by keeping
= 6our store In Cleveland. Andrews
had been . day lab0rer III relineries,
md 20 poor that his wife took in
sowing. He found q way Of refin-
Ing BY which more kerosene could
b got out of barrel OF petroleum
than by any other method, aud set
up for himself q ten-bsrrei still in
Cleveland, by which he cleared $500
II six months. Andre we's still and
Rookfeller's savings have grown
tuto the Standard Oil Company. 1t
Aas . capitol, nominslly So. $780,
oO0, but really much more, on
which It divides among its stock.
holders every year millions of dol.
lars Of profile. 1t has refineries at
Cleveland, Baltimore and New
York. Its own acid works, glue
1actories, hardware stores anu bar.
rol shops supply 1t with all the &C.
ooee0ries IL needs In it's business.
II has bought land at Indiana polls
IN which to erect the largest barrel
factory In the councry. 1t has
drawn it, check for $1,000 1000 to
suppress . rival. 1t buys $4,000 to
~, 900 barrels Of crude oil day, at
: prise fixed by itself, and makes
special contracts with the railroads
for the transportation of $4,000, 900
70 IA. 600 900 barrels of oil year.
The four quarters Of the globe are
pastlti0ned among the me mbers of
The Standard combinations. One
hae the control of the China trade;
another that of some country OF
2urope; another that of the United
States. In New York, you cannot
buy oil for East Indian export from
The house that has been given the
European trade; reciprocally, the
East Indian house IL not allowed to
cell for export to Europe. The
Standard produces only one fiftieth
- slxttsth Of our petroleum, but die
eetes the price OF all, and refines
nine.tsnths. Circulars are Issued
- intervals by which the price of
al 10 0xsd for all the cities of the
oeuntry, except New York, where
. little competition survives. Such
y the Indifference of the Standard
OIL Company to railroad charges
Inst the price 10 made the same for
pobnte 20 far apart as Terre Haute.
Chicago and Keokuk. There IL not
to-day merchant in Chicago, or
u any other city in New England,
Western or Southern States, d ealing
IL Kerosene, whose prices are not
nxe4 Tor him by the Standard. In all |
oooce these prices are graded 90
ehas = merchant In one city cannot
export TO another. Chicago, Gin.
elnnnti or Cleveland is not allowed
- supply the tributary towns.
That 10 done by the Standard ITSELF
Vhlch runs oil In Its own tank cars
~ Ill the principal points Of distri-
button. This corporation has driv.
- Into bankruptcy or out of busi.
49, or into union with itself, all
H. petroleum ref1neries Of the
Co4otTy except five In New York,
~ > few OF little consequences
= Western Pennsylvania. No
6o1y Knows how many millions
Do6kofuller 10 worth. Current gos.
~ among his business acquaint.
1922 In Cleveland puts his Income
~ year ~ figure second only, if
6ooond ct al, to that of Vanderbilt.
opAvtnes, Samuel Andrews, the
- EnglIsh day lsborer, retired
1G1go go with millions. just who
~ DoGndard OIL Company are,
1ooIy Whist their capital 10, and
~ ogo thslR relations TO the rail. |
1@4 neoo0y knows except In
~ Their oizlcsrs refused to |
~ boforo the Supreme Court Of |
nG0yDVnninv Ne late New York
No. lnveotieetlDg Commit.
q eonmittee Of Congress. The
III Xoek qoDnittss found there
uu11l69 TO b. learned from
~ va oompelled to con.
n IuobIlltY - asoortain e.
- % 6o1l1o1 10 kuoW's Of thio
~ 1lo osG1ujtatlou, Whose
6D1 fTo0saotlono ofo 81