National Republican., 1882-12-09
INTERFERING TO BOYS.
A Cincinnati Messenger Boy Makes $4,000
In OIL.
riorgno1H Eo,,,frcr

Cindnndt Enquirer
The Standard oil company, the only concern
in the world that is powerful enough to COM
pei the combined trunk-line railroads to do
its bidding, demanding and receiving from
them rates which made opposition impossible
and crushed out every rival, has lately been
beaten by a messenger boy. In the history
of the Standard this is tho only time it has
ever been outwittcd. Tom Scott when alive
and president of the Pennsylvania railway,
was outgcneraled by the Standard. Wander
bilt and his allies were not match for Roclie-
feller, and they were compelled to allow him
rebates which enabled him TO build up the
greatest monopoly the world has over known.
When he rot ready he laid pipe line of
his own from the oil regions to Cleveland
in one direction, and from the oil regions
to the seaboard in another direction, and
then told the trunk line managers, who
had enriched him, that they could go
to that place where the worm dieth not and
the fire is not quenched But this man with
his millions has been outwitted by Mike
Kcating, 16 years old, messenger boy OF the
Western Union telegraph company ut Oil
City. Mike has been in the employ OF the
telegraph company since he was old enough
to carry dispatches, and nearly all of this time
he has been in the oil exchange at Oil City,
carrying messages to and form the brokers.
The large operators in petroleum send their
dispatches in cipher. Tho boy had carried so
many messages sent by the Standard from its
headquarters at Cleveland that he had un-
raveled the mystic characters, and could read
them like a printed page. Just prior to the re-
cent extraordinary advance in the petroleum
market, when the price jumped in n few days
from fifty cents to 81. .35, Heating carried num-
Der Of kilograms to the Standard sbrokers or
dering them to buy large blocks of oil. The
monopoly had laid its plans to boom the market
and its Oil City brokers were ordered to
buy everything. Buy half million bar
rcls," "buy million barrels" "buy two
million barrels" were the way these orders
came in. They were riddles to all but the
brokers who received them, and Mike Keat-
ing the messenger boy who delivered them.
Keating, although mere boy, knew some
thing extraordinary was soon to happen. The
market, which had been like stagnant pool
for a year, was already creeping up the scale.
Orders for immense blocks of oil were still
coming from the Standards headquarters.
There was no time to lose. But what could
a boy do without a dollar in his pocket? !?
Heating went to one of the largest operators
on the floor of the exchange, outside of the
Standards agents, and told him he had a
pointer" The broker laughed at him. The
boys earnestness finally commanded atten..
ton, and the broker agreed to his propositions
which was that the broker should furnish
money for "deal," if he was satisfied with
the information, and divide the profits
equally. Then the messenger told the
broker what he had, and of the kilograms he
had been carrying from the Standards Cleve-
land Office. The next message that fell into
the boys hands was carried secretly to the
broker and translated 1t was an order
to buy everything that was offered. The
broker probably swallowed to keep his heart
down; any way, he went back to the OK
change and began to buy. He saw the Stand
ards agents buying right and left, and was
satisfied big deal was in progress. He took
everything he could get, until he had round
million barrels. The market was already
jumping fast and his million barrels had
been secured at an average cost of seventy
two cents. He was loaded to the guards.
Orders to buy andi orders to sell were
pouring in from every quarter, and the eX-
citement was becoming intense. The market
was still bounding upward, with the usual
fluctuations. Every time the price advanced
cent or declined cent the broker saw a
profit or loss of $4,000 He kept his head,
however, and when the market scored above
IIeighty cents he began to unload. The Stand
ard men were on hand to take everything,
and he got rid of all his oil at an average
price of eighty cents a barrel. He had bought
at seventy-two, and his profits were there
divided equally with Mike Keating, the mes
senger-boy who had unraveled the Standards g
cipher, according to agreement 1t is we'll
enough to remember that oil touched S1.35
during this ten days spurt, and If the broker
had held on until the top was reached the
profits of the two would have been $500, ,OOO
1t goes without saying that the Standard
oil company has new cipher and one mes
senger-bOy is out of job.