Evening journal., 1889-07-09
a NINETEENTH CENTURY ROMANCE.

4
A NINETEENTH CENTURY ROMANCE.
The second paper by Hon. w. L. Will
son in the Baltimore Sun on the rise Of
the Standard Oil Company reads like a
romance. II is not romance of fifteenth
century deeds Of valor. There is no six
teenth century religious fervor about IT,
There is only the nineteenth century
keen, relentless and successful pursuit
Of the almighty dollar. II is the romance
Of the Ralph Nickleby tlavor-cold, pas.
sionless, persistent, unerrlng, swift and
cruel 1t is the fight Of the hawk so
straight and sure that one almost ad.
mires its swoop to destroy an innocent
and helpless victim. There Is no
sentiment in this romance Of
Of an unscrupulous, grasping, dishonest
corporation of the nineteenth century
the age Of materialism. There is moth
ing In 1t to captivate the fancy or win
the admiration. 1t attracts only the at
tention which the bold deed Of daring
and skillful robber commands. Mr.
} Wilson says:
} Prior to 1870 there was a firm Of oil
reiners in the city Of Cleveland, Ohio.
doing business under the partnership
name of Rockefeller, Andrew & Flagler.
They were not producers Of oil, but re-
ceived the crude oil from the Pennsy
lvania fields. The capacity of their re-
fnery was six hundred barrels per day.
In 1870 they became Incorporated
under the laws of Ohio as THE Standard
Oil Company, with capital of one mil.
lion dollars and a refining capacity Of
over thousand barrels per day; that Is
to saw, capacity for doing about one tenth
OF all the oil refining of the country at
that time. There we're many other rein
ing firms and companies in existence.
some of which had equal plant, equip
! ment and capacity
The location Of the Standard at Cleve-
land was not an advantageous one. The
! numerous rehneries nearer the oil fields
! and the seaboard held superior positions
? and enjoyed cheaper transportation facili
ties. Those at Pittsburg for instance,
received their crude oil by barges on the
Allegheny river, and had a much shorter
5 route to the seaboard for their refined
e product; then, as now, the great bulk of
our refined oil being sent TO foreign mar
kets. The carriers for the Standard, and
! doubtless for the other refineries at
I Cleveland, were the railroads-the Erie
! and the New York Central, with their
connecting lines.
! Thus it appears the Standard Oil Com.
) pany had no advantage over competitors,
3 but 1t soon made arrangements by which
all other companies were forced to sell OF
! fail Some sold out TO the Standard Oil
monopoly and were dismantled and som,
4 failed, and thus came into the control O.
e the Standard Oil Company simply b.
,, another route. The reiners one and al
I, succumbed to the inevitable. One OF tn
= afty.two refners Of Western Pennsylva
mia gives a graphic account Of his strug
~ giles and final collapse to the Congress
IA sional Committee. He had $500 90
Ia plant Of modern machinery. He had chea
m labor, cheap barrels, cheap coal, shor
of haul and every modern appliance for work
T.. ing up the by-produets, but still after 1877
a his business lost money every year. H
as visited the Pennsylvania railroad author
8. tiles and besought them in vain 70
er cheaper rates. They gave him evasiv
re replies and made the rates higher rattle
n than lower. He went to the STANDARD o.
"A Company and the officers said There
~ no hope for any Of us, but the weakes
a must go first" He failed, and th
Standard Oil Company leased and ran hi
works at profit.
A Philadelphia refner having unusus
facilities held out longer and finally mad
e terms with the Standard Oil Company
! During the last few years he was happ
y II his business showed a gross profit 0
I $40, ,000 The Standard OH Company r.
tanned him at high salary, paid hin
cost for the works $3.50, 900, aud ran tn
refinery at profit Of $i75,OOO the frs
year
ii BY 1879 the secret OF the Midas touch
Of the Standard Oil Company was rs
ba vealed. The entire oil refining busines
10 of the United States was in its contrt
! and Mr.. Cassett the third vice presiden
- Of the Pennsylvania Railroad testife
- that;
- The Standard Oil Company was receiS
ing over and above the drawback
n' allowed to other shippers Of oil by tha
a. road rebates that amounted to 40 cent
ls per barrel crude oil from the Bradfor
Id field and 5li cents per barrel crude 81
ba from the lower field to tidewater. an
64i cents per barrel on refined oil fror
u Cleveland to tidewater.
'le Taking the average shipment Of al
M for several years, and allowing to tn
re Standard four-hfths as its share, its r.
he bates, on this basis, would amour,
- over $1,000, 900 year, an advantage 5,
% fore which the independent refiners ha
necessarily fallen prostrate, almost b,
Or, fore realizing the source Of their ruin.
lc Meantime there was subsidiary con
he pany formed called the American Tran
ry fer Company, with 100000 capita
m which owned an insignificant pipage
Tor less than seventy-6ve miles. To tn
Tor company an allowance of 90 cents D
'ry barrel was made on all oil carried by Il
er- Pennsylvania railroad and like sum |
at the Erie and the New York CentrI
ew Taking Mr.. Cassett's testimony agai
there we're 13,750,00 barrels Of
Ire shipped in 1878 over these roads
too which the income to this Americi
Ss Transfer Company was So, 09s, 750
ner The Investigations did not reveal whe
we those three millions per annum went, b
lty II is reasonable to suppose that the OF
as GERS Of the roads we're bleeding" 4
.a1 stOcA-.O.ds.s 0y this nest snd vnscti