Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-02-28
HERE'S RICHNESS IN lie.
ROCKEFELLER GIVES some FACTS
RELATING TO Tbs STANDARD.

hGNN nv v IT , HINOfNNOs
No End of - vi leads Pail by a Trust with
Ninety Million Of CapitaI-sum, Inter-
csting Statements of the Business OF the
Great aIouupoly-Ihe RuthschiIds Dan
gerous Rivals.
New YORK Feb IS The STANDARD Oil
company was the first to receive attention
| Monday from the senate investigating COM
miUtee. John D. Rockefeller, the first wit
ness said that he was the president OF the
| STANDARD Oh company OF OHIO; his brother
| William is president Of the Stan lard Oil
company Of New York The capital stock
| Of the Ohio company is s. 5000 Wit
| ness s,il that he knew of the Standard Oh
| trust, and that 1t was not incorporated. 1t
| is based On "A written agreement made in
| January, lSS} signed by the shareholders of
| the companies that entered the crust. Mr.
| Rockefeller produced the agreement asking
| that lis contents be kept from the press, as it
| contained private matter He said that
from five TO iiuy companies entered the
trust hut would not say definitely how
many. The capital of the trust Is S9J 600 OOO.
He believed that all the retiaeres entering
into the agreement were corporations. No
companies were taken in atterwRrl except
Tor reUsu able value OF their reiiueries No
Efforts hud been made to force their stocks
down TO get them into the trus. The nine
trustees If tho trust are John D. Rockefeller,
William Rookie ioller, Benjamin Brewster,
Charles Pratt, j. b. Archibald and j. A.
Bostwlck all q Now York; W. S. Warner
OF Philadelphia; Olivia $. Payne, of Cleve-
land, ami H. NJ. Flagler, of New jersey.
The witness SAID that the oil proiucl OF the
country is abcuf u, OOO, go barrels uunu-
ally. Tree.quarters of this is controlled by
the trust. The capacity OF ths trust rpfiner-
les, /! un to their full eNl ent, would equal
the annual consumption, Ia 1851 nearly
~, OUu 90 barrels OF pstrO!eu.n We're produced,
the cost o. cru 10 oil at the wells being So
cents per barrel. In 1881 about 70, 900, OOO
barrels we're produced, the cost o. crude oil
at thc wells being about 66 cents per barrel
During Jue past Lwanty-four years $780,
iii, so worth OF nll was exported
Tus trust certificates are worth Sl6j; par
vatur 500. Trey have been higher. In
1881 the shareholders received 20 per cent
stock IA addition TO a dividend of 10 per
cont. Dividends have been declared every
three months, the average bang : : cent pei
cent. Annually. TNenty millions nave been
added to tue 100000 of capital win
which tn, trust starred. That mas been
given as stock div,d 'nis, in addion to regular
dividends. The number Of refinerics
has been increasing constantly, the
trust doing nothing to prevent
production. The trust only owns tho stock
of few small wells, WHOSE production is
about !JJ barrels day, while tae total pro-
duction IS 100, OJO barrels day. The trust
has not been able to $, cure better tran3porta-
ton rates than are allowed tho general pub
lie nor has 1t received rebates. Tue trust
owns the stock OF tho pipe lines, one of which
brings the oil TO the seaboard through tubes.
The trust gave its certificates for tho stock
of the pipe lines o. the $4,000, 90 capital
of the trust about So, OOJ, OUJ represented the
plant OF the pip5 lin95. IL cost 81
cents to run barrel of oil to Nav
York from the wells. The oil from
the iifIeront wells is run into tanks owned
by tue pipe lines and the owners of the wells
get what are known as "pips-line certificates
with which they caa get on the sanford as
much oil as they call for All oil is run iUto
the tanks together and eau not be traced.
The majority OF the stock is held bt tho pres
ent trustees. The trust has SUGGESTED in
placing the certificates on the market as
stocks of railroads. uj did not think the
trust could force ths price Of oil certificates
up or down. 1t would dsrend on what the
world valued them at.
A synopsis of the STANDARD trust agree
ment IS: 1t is executed January =, 1882, L.
divides those entering it into three classes
The parties agree to form corporations known
as the Standard Oh company in Ohio New
York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The
trustees are TO require bonds and stocks of
the companies. Mr.. Rockefeller said a
dangerous rival had sprung up in Europe.
The RothschiIds were developing the Russian
oil fields. The STANDARD had relucei the
pOit of rafinal OIL In WAS lntnreStel in nat |
ural gas. 1t controlled three-fo Of the
oil produced in this country 1t had steadied |
prices and improved on qualities. He re-
fused to produce the minutes of tina board of
trustees
Mr.. Archibald en- lol sd Mr. r ockefeller's |
testimony. lie said the trust employs 25- |
lOO men.