The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-01-01

the nothing part OF his ultimatum proved
the TACT tSss he had refused The oil coo%pany's
after he had told the story for nearly the hun
dTedth time. an agent OF the company said to
Blli, / don't believe you have, any 10000
merely a bluG. I believe you have. pumped
that tank full OF water Just to swell around
here and N II maze us no, think h you vn have SSOo'ooo
The mans manner. as he said this. was so
peculiar that l began to scent something
'''ft's lie all right, answered Bill. and wen
60 up TO No. 10 and I'll show YOU
Not necessary said the agent. Just pro-
60 Receiptr snorted Bill. i didn't take no
"Blll couldn't read or write. and, unlike most
uneducated men. he had no respect for that
which he could not understand.
Very WELL said the agent. to tank No, 10
ITO tank No. 10 we went. Not far from the
large. cylindrical eheetiron structure. intended
provided with a full complement Of pumps and
several small receiving tanks.
into receiving tank No. A. ordered the agent
1t was an easy task, for the pumper to make
the necessary, connections; In the top. of re-
the pipe. from the large tank 10 led. The con-
tents Of the large tank, or a part of them,
which Pin said was oil and which the agent
pump started. The pipe leading; to The man
for action, The strokes of the piston quickened
nnntn the force 70 ,,6 Gt sncti IN caught held Of the
LIQUID g~urgling along the, pipe. In a moment
i would drop from the end OF the'pipe through
the m9nhole; The question would be settled.
face was iivid. His eyes had a strange look.
Excitement had quickened his faculties. He
scale; the sound Of running LIQUID came nssrer
splash stream OF clear water was running
into receiving tank A; The agents face wore
that expression that can well imagine, Me,
seemed assured.
Ill rlP }eo i thi R}El the .rx, cG%RaRppny had stolen the
facts and you may draw any conclusions your
reason demands: but understand me. l charge
That WIS something Of a tragedy' said the
YES" -eturned the broker. and here's an
Of 100000 Bill Bill At The e" time or q which ffIii / am
uniting in what would be called nowadays a
trust. had a practical MONOPOLY of the oil mar
country. con competitio1 1.'S once sf Between si G separ ate
The separate eistSS6iishmSSnrttss had d'T United H'a and
petition should, become actual and another
trust should arise, to dispute with
a combination Of companies possessed a prac-
tical monopoly Of the market. This, was true
with a qualification. Certain individuals pos
sessed OF large capital. among them Capt. Van
deGrIft. whose heirs are still IN the oil business.
fought this combination. These men, were
bination, but that day had not yet come. Capt.
Vandegrift. a many times millionaire. was in
the market in opposition to the combina-
ton; It. was a day Of large opera.
q, oil. I think about a million barrels.
They had constantly in reserve tanks which by
selling enabled them, to force the market down.
No sooner had ,Vandegrift bought his million
thought to scare Vandegrift and thus force
him to unload upon n falling market at great
loss to himself. and with q possibility of a panic
to anti-combination people,.
Did vandegrift scare2 Not a bit OF it. They
Vandegrift Immediately bought another mill
ion at the lowered price. This surprised the
combination people. They forced tho market
still lower. VandeRrift bought all they had to
sell. You see. they thought he could not stand
the storage charges. vandegriit continued to
buy. and then they saw their folly. The result
was that later they had to buy. at a heavy loss
to themselves, from Vandegrift to fill their
foreign orders. for he, and not they. then had
the monopoly.
Yes. indeed. times arc changed. We were
once the largest exchange in the world. But
now We deal mostly in wheat. stocks. and a
little in oil when we get the chance. which isn't
often nowadays. Still. for all that. we take the
cold, comfort OF q dead Napoleon in a splendid
are still the only oil exchange in the
Yes. thank you. I don't care IL I do. All
this talking has made me dry"