The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1881-03-24
tFrom the Atlantic Monthly to leareA.J
CONCLUDED from last sesskl
CHAPTER II.

trrom the Atlantic Monthly to MarsA.j
(Concluded from last scesk.l
CHAPTER II.
Mr.. Roger Sherman, OF counsel fue Tho COM
plainants in the suit brought By ths Stats Of
Pennsylvania, hunted through the officers Of
the Pennsylvania railroad to iind some ono who
knew what rebates tho Standard WAS getting.
Most Of the officers know - little % Nr. Van
dcrbilt FhAlly, Mr.. Cassatt was put on tho
stand. He testified to the rebate Of 22,f ccnts,
already referred to, and similar rebates Of %
cents barrel from the New York Central, and
20 to so cents barrel from tho Erie. He
showed that, while the opsn rate to the public
was 81 30 to New York for carrying barrel Of
refined oil, the Standard had the work done
for clio aud CLIO q barrel lees, and
that out Of the 70 or 90 cents the Penn
s,lvania received Il Paid 10 cents for storage
and cents for hghterage for tho Standard.
Tho public rate for transporting crude q w.s
cents, and finally but 10 cents. While tho Penn
sylvaniA was giving Oil these special allowances
carrying oil 1t one time according 70 Vice Pres
ident Cassatt's sworn declaration, for less than
nothing, It charged shippers IKE George W.
CAchAan, Who were not In with tho ofncers Of
the road, the extreme rate Of % barrel The
effects Of these combinations were we'll ex-
pressed BY Mr.. b. B. Campbell, Q witness for
the State Of Pennsylvania, who, when asked
what profit there was In refining, replied ITO
any one paving the open rate OF freight there
would be : heavy loss, but with CLIO rebate
on every barrel there would be heavy pro6t."
The New York Central the PcnnsylvaniA and
between January aud October, 1879, about elS,-
100000 Of freight earnings they would have
had but for their alliance with the Standard.
Tho latest annual report Of the Reading Com
pAnv gives great deal Of space to these heavy
losses. The President Of the BALTIMORE and
Ohio railroad called the attention Of the other
trunk-lne Presidents to Its statements. They
could not he said, fail to embarrass the rail-
roads before Congress- and to do them most
serious damage before the bar OF public opin-
ion He appealed to the trunk-line Presidents
Ut their meeting Jan. q, 1880, to reform tho
wasteful and absurd rates on oil" which vir-
tnally for the Standard amounted to FREQ trans.
Presidents decided Ut that meeting not TO alter
their rates. The rebates given the Standard
extended to neatly every State In the Union.
These rebates arc about equal to the average
value Of the oil at the wells. The railroads Of
the United States virtually give tho Standard
its raw material free. The Western railroads
favor the Standard in the same way that East
in the days before these had been killed Oh,
equal rates with the Standard. unless they did
All equal business. The railroads create the
monopoly, and then make the monopoly their
excuse. When the Lake shore charged nomi-
nally 50 cents barrel and so cents per 100
pounds to carry the oil from Cleveland 10 Chi
cage it did the business for tho Standard ct
~ cents barrel aud % cents ncr 100.
It seems incredible that Americans should
have been willing to do what the Standard, BY
means Of these special privileges from the rail-
roads. did 10 its competitors. Tho refineries
Mt New York had often 10 lie idle while the oil
was running on the ground at the wells be-
cause they could not st transportation: The
monopoly Of the pipe lines which the railroads
gave It made the Standard the master Of the
exits OF oil from tho producing districta Pro-
aluclng them selves but One-iftieth Of the oil
yield. they stood between the producers Of the
other forty-nine fiftieths and the world. There
was apparently no trick the Standard would
not play II delivered it, competitors inferior
oils wien they had ordered the high-priced
article, out Of which alone they could manu-.
factnre the fancy brands their customers called
for. The Standard received - q common car
rier from f. w. Coddington oil for Transports
ton through its United States Pipe Linc, but.
when he void II to . New York dealcr outside
the Standard combination, refused 10 deliver il,
At the same time shipping oil to one Of this
dealers competitors IN New York. The
Standard controlled the pipes by which alone
Mr.. Goddlngton aud Ail other producers could
get to market When the flow from his wells
had fill his tanks. and he had TO have them
cnpt,ed, his application to the Standards
United Pipe Line, common carrier, was met
BY refusal 10 nlove his oil unless he sold il to
the Standard. The following extract from the
stenographic report tells tho story plainly
enough.
Q.-Upon what conditions would they run
uy
A.-Upon condition that it WAS sold to GER
tain parties A. Bostwick and Co., members
Of the standard.
Q.-At what price compared with the market
price!
A.-Bclow the market price.
Q.-Always below the market pgioel
Always below it.
II. L. Taylor 4 Co, OF Petrolia, had wells
producing l,600 barrels OF oil Z day. Their
tanks 1t the wclls were full They owned other
tanks, to which they could only get their oil
through the pipes which the standard owned
ana op rated as common carrier. They APP
Piled 70 It for transportation. and were refused.
The wells could not be shut down for fear Of
water, and 80 Thousands Of barrels Of oil ran
into the ground. Tho Standard carried its
point, for after that the firm sold Oil their oil
TO II, always % 10 % cents . barrel below the
market price. H. Caldwell WAS another pro-
dncer who has flowing wells and empty
tanks, which the Standard refused to con-
meet, and who had to sell his oil 10
II at prices ranging from 1911 to 1871 cents .
barrel below the lowest market rate. Lewis
Emerv. Jr, producer OF oil, WAS IN owner in
SIX different companies, oil Of which were de-
MED transportation by the Standard, and
Fortod to sell TO il at its price. He aAid, "We
70 down to the Office and stand in line some
Times half day people in line, reaching out
into the street, sixty and seventy OF us. When
our turn comes, we go in and xsk them TO buy.
and they grac,onsly viii take IL" This il known
70 the trade as "the immediate shipment swim
die Sometimes tho Standard, after buying
the oil this way, would take away . small part
" u. and refuse 70 nay for the rest till il WAS
Of these manipulations. the price OF oil began 4
steady decline from q. so to so cents barrel,
~ tho face Of en- increased demand uneuualed
IN the history OF the trade. In 1878 oil went
.toAn to 7sSs cents q barrel at the very time
the shipments from the wells were 6e,00O bar
reis day, tho largsst ever made till that time.
Al this, ~ one pf the largest producers testi-
fled. was bccadSe i've take our commodity 10
one buyer and accept the price he chooses 20
appeal =
Hundreds and thousands Of men have been
ruined by these acts Ut the Standard and the
railroads.; whole communities have been rem
S0 oOspoa osVs enO tn0 poaOo Oh fcnnaylvAnlA
nMpesiled moro than once. The Thousands of
nca thrown ont Of employment in Pittsburgh
between 1872 and 1877 were actors In the pitts-
hnrsh tragedy Of July, 1877. The oil producers,
IN their memorial 70 Gov. Hartranf{. Aug. is.
1874. for help declared that 1.-THE Standard and
the railroad companies leave to the people. whoee
creatures they are, but two rcmedies-an appsal
for protection first 10 the law Of the land. and
next to the higher law OF nature !" The yery In
teisent and fair correspondent Of the New Yorl
Saa, whom the Standard could not sednce. Il Il
did tho representative Of another great New
Hork daily, wrote from Ttnsville, Pa. Nov. 1
1878: The fact IL, tho State Of Rnnsylyanis
has had narrow escape from an internal var,
that would have required al tts resources 10 con.
troll and check, and tho danger il not over vet
Had certain men given the word there
wouid have been an outbreak that contemplxl.
ca tho seizure Of the railroads aud running
them; the capture and control OF the United
Pipe Lines the StAndard's) property. aud n
al probability the burning of all the property
OF the Standard Oil Company in the RECON,
The men who would have done this. ana ma ,
90 4 yat, Are not lahorcrs or tramns. They ars
men Who believe in order and law. and nav.
business to attend to-. Mr.. n. N Camubell.
VINO described himself as the unfortunate own |.
er o. nearly hundred producing wclls, told ,
story that ought not to Be unintereetine 10 the