The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1894-06-06

chiefly resorted to whee independent deal
ers obtained their supply by water route
That many Of the defds,df the Standard
are dark is evident urom the fact that
its members, when summoned by the Hep
burn committee. decpped ito testify, lest
their testimony be USED to Convict them Of
or attempted to bride employees of rival
firms, for the purpose 81 running their
business. By its peculiar methods the
company has been successful in courts of
oyea an and halls . and naa EN-
against the public that ise without prece-
dent in America It1has accumulated a
capital of more than s10O, 900, and 1t is
even claimed that for 'yearsi it's annual div
idends have exceeded in amount the capital
actually invested This,f. is not at all
Strange when it is considered that they
nave levied upon the producers, consumers
and transporters alike. MI Cassat testi-
| fed before the Newt York investigating
committee that in Is months the railroads
had paid the Standard in rebates no less
than $00O0,000. And the very payment Of
these enormous rebates enabled the Stand
ard to decrease the price of oil to the pro-
Queer and to increase it to the consumer
1t is claimed by the defenders of the
standard monopoly that under the trust
the price OF petroleum has been constantly
decreased to the consumer. That the price
of kerosene is lower now than it was Is
auctions were brought about not by the
trust, but in spite of the trust The price
now maintained is an unnatural one The
standard Oil Company never lowered the
price OF Oil except when compelled to do
SO by competition. The largely increased
output of crude oil, the improved methods
OF refining the greatly lowered cost of
transportation would have lowered the
price of coal oil without the philanthropy
of the Standard Oil Company Iron steel
calico. wooden goods and a nd of ar
commodities have within almost the same
period suffered much larger reductions than
coal oil. But even if the Standard mon
opoly had voluntarily lowered the price of
it's products. the American people could
never approve of it's methods. They can
never be made to believe that the end
sanctties the means, especially when those
means are railroad favors, secret combina-
tions bribery, intimidation and lawless ar
rogance.
Many other interesting cases might be
given. The Southern Pacific Railway Com
pany for instance, owns nearly all of the
railways of California, and enjoys at the
present time almost a complete monopoly
of the transportation business of that state
and much more of the Pacific coast. Per-
haps no set of managers would be more
considerate of the peoples rights in the
absence of legal restraint than those in
charge OF this company, yet there is not
business man on the Pacific coast who
comes in contact with this company who
does not realize and feel the power of it's
iron hand, unless it be those who for vari-
Gus reasons recipients of it's special
favors. 1t has become notorious that the
legislature, board of railroad commissioners
and some of the judges of the courts of
that state as Servie to the demands
Of this railway company as are its own
employees
The railway company is closely organic
ed body of shrewd active men, while those
who furnish business for it are not organ
ized and they will never be able to prop
erly protect their own interests until they
control the machinery Of their state SOW
eminent.