The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-06-30

BERLIN. June 29.-Reference has been
made in these dispatches to the action of
the Prussian minister of commerce against
the German-American Petroleum COM
pany. The Wester ZeitTIng, of Bremen, re-
Gently published an article explaining how
the Standard Oil company, Of America,
got a grip on all the oil markets in Ger
NAV. The Standard company first got
control of the two leading oil companies at
Hamburg 1t then shipped American
Detroleum in tank steamers and thus
evaded the German duty on oil in barrels.
1t possessed great barrel factories in Ger
many and pumped oil direct from the
steamers into the barrels. 1t thus became
a dangerous rival to the oil companies IN
Bremen, the greatest oil market in Eu-
rope.
1t finally made advances to the Bremen
firms, who consented to com bine, fearing
that Hamburg would otherwise be made
the great oil market. This combination
effected, it was an easy matter to gain
control of all the oil business in Germany,
which has been done. The German firms
which combined with the Standard take
care only of the wholesale trade and trans
portation into the interior. The whole of
Germany is divided into districts, assigned
to differedt firms belonging to the com
bination. Tanks have been erected at
Ress, Luisburg, Mannheim, and 1T IS
into the hands of the local branches Of the
great monopoly.
The great company appears determined
TO absorb every branch of the coal oil
trade First, it got control of the Aneri-
can well owners and refners, then the
American export business, next the pri-
vate shipping interest, then the European
importing business, then the export from
European ports, and now it seems to be
trying to seize the entire retail trade. 1t
is monopoly of the whole world, and a
private one at that with its seat in Amer
lea. If it succeeds in buying out or COM
bining with the men who control the pro-
duction of Russian coal oil, then the sup
ply of the whole world will be subject to
the power Of a few gentlemen in New
York.
Max Gaede, director of the German
Russian Naptha Importing company, the
German branch of the Nobel Brothers, the
principal producers of Russian oil and the
producers of one-third of the entire Rus
sian output was interviewed today. He
said that the Nobels expect to be swal-
lowed upElike all the rest bythe Ameri-
can corporation. He told how the Stand
ard obtained control of the Bremen and
Hamburg markets, then of the Rotterdam
and Antwerp markets, to control the trade
of Holland and Belgium. Recently he
learned that the Standard had gained con-
IrOI Jne pTlOClpdl OH lTDlS III VIENNA,
which controlled the trade of Italy. The
Standard, he said, was getting in its work
everywhere, and the Nobels had come to
the conclusion that they might as well ex-
pect to be frozen out of the market. If a
combination with the Nobels were effect
ed then the Standard would have control
of the oil tradei the world over.
The reporter asked Mr.. Gaede: "You
are aware that the German government
has ordered an investigation into this new
combination. Cannot the government
break the power of the company by special
laws?"
mo; it can do nothing. Everything
has been done in a strictly legal way, If
the Standard company chooses to raise the
price of the product in America and sell at
higher prices to the German corporation,
what can Germany dos"
Then you think the company without a
rival and without competion?"
I've are still in the business" replied
Mr. Gaede
Mr.. Gaede's talk conveyed the impress
sion that he thought the Standard COM
pany powerful enough to defeat all opposi-
tion, and that his company would grace
fully surrender if a big price were paid for
the surrender. Should this take place,
then the Standard would hold uucon-
troued sway on the continent. The Berlin
Tageblatt believes that the fears of a
monopoly are groundless, and says that the
Nobels will not surrender to the Standard