The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1889-08-24

/ oil Tor several years, and allowing X
the Standard four-fifths as its share
its rebates on this basis, would
amount to over .fre million dollars s
year, an advantage before which the
Independent refiners had necessarily
fallen PROSTATE, almost before reali
zing the source of their ruin. Mr.
Cassatt was not by any means sin
ner beyond other railroad managers
When brought to the stand he spoke
out frankly and without evasion
He disclosed the rebates allowed by
his own company, and stated that
he had seen contracts made by the
Erie ard New York Central which
were equally as partial to the Stand
ard. Furthermore, there came t.
light in this testimony one of thu
most wonderful of those "thimblerig
continuance" for diverting money
from the treasures of the railroad
companies that has ever been known
The American Transfer Company, s
subsidiary of the Standard, had q
capital of 100000 and no debt, and
owned a small service of local pip
age, estimated by its president or
the witness stand at from fifty t.
seventy-five miles.
Mr. Cassatt testified that his com
pany was paying to this company
twenty two and a-half cents pei
barrel on all oil carried over its road
no matter by whom shipped, and
his order to the comptroller of his
company directing such rebate to be
paid gave as the reason for the al
lowance that it had been proved to
his satisfaction that like or even
greater sum per barrel was paid to
the American Transfer Company by
the Erie and New York Central Com
panies. The earning capacity of the
American Transfer Company may
be shown by taking the year 1878,
the year Immediately preceding
Mr.. Cassatt's testimony. Thirteen
million seven hundred and fifty
thousand barrels of oil were shipped
over these three trunk lines, ON
which, at the rate of twenty two and
a-half cents per barrel, the American
Transfer Company received from
them the sum of SO, 093, $50.
1t is doubtful if the history of hu-
man industry or enterprise can any
where show another hundred thous-
and dollars with such earning power
as that which made up the capital
stock of the American Transfer Com
pany. The subsidiary corporator,
had reached the zenith of its devcl-
opment in that company.
POWER OF THE STANDARD.
AS early as 1877 there was sig
nal illustration of the power of the
Standard over the great trunk lines
of railroad. The Empire Transpor-
tation Company was corporation
owning large number of cars run
ming over many railroad lines. 1t
was a solicitor of freight, having
terminal facilities of its own, and,
like an express company, had its cars
hauled over these roads. 1t had a
large number of cars for transport
ing crude oil in bulk and its rates
were uniform, and for trade reasons,
as it alleged, it had become interest
ed in two refneries, one in New York
and one in Philadelphia.
This company known among rail
road men as the "Green Line" was
a carrier of oil for independent rein
ers. 1t threatened the monopoly of
the Standard, and that company de
manded its exclusion from the lines
of the Pennsylvania Company, alleg-
ing as the reason that no carrier
should likewise be a refiner The
company refused, and the Standard
withdrew it's freight and compelled
the other trunk lines to begin war
of rates on the Pennsylvania Com
pany.
This lasted for several months and
until that company raised the white
flag. At the demand of the Stand
ard it closed an option which it held
on the property of the Empire Trans
portation Company, itself acquiring
all the cars, and the pipe lines and
refineries being conveyed to that one
of it's own. affiliated corporations
which the Standard selected.
Thus had the creature become the
master and shown itself greater than
the corporation whose favoritism
chiefly had built it up.
/ shall not pursue this subject,
my only object being to show, as al
ready stated, that the Standard Oil
trust is the creature of the railroad
companies; that it has been carried
forward to power and conquest upon
their shoulders and at the expense
of their stockholders.
WHAT WAS ITS STRANGE INFLUENCE?
/ come back now to the question.
How could single shipper get such
discrimination in its favor as to
blot out competitors?
The railroad managers reply that
it became necessary for them as COM
peting carriers to concentrate the oil
traffic in one hand, in order to avoid
fierce and losing fight among them
selves for its transportation, and
that their favoritism to this one
shipper was for that purpose, and in
consideration of that shippers guar
anteeing to each, one its share of the
carrying business on rates that at
least afforded some compensation.
This explanation is discreditcd by
the fact that they had already agreed
upon a division of the business of
transporting oil. They had only to
live up to their own compact, charge
even rates to all shippers, and a
large number of independent oil re-
fineries would have flourished and
furnished increasing freight to the
roads. The president of the Empire
Company testified that there was no
reason why shipper of many car
loads should have better rates than
the shipper of one carload.
But even if it was good policy for
the railroad companies to concen-
trate the business in one shipper,
this is no explanation of the large
rebates allowed. The unanimous
testimony is that rebate of ten
cents per barrel would have accom-
plished this result as inevitable as
the rebates allowed. These immense
sums must have been allowed, not
for concentrating the traffic in a sin