El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-14
THE STANDARD
OIL OCTOPUS
The Great Monopoly Has
New Mexico In Its Grasp.
A BAD INSPECTION LAW
Which Should Be Repealed Promptly
By the Territorial Legislature.
Its Existence Means the Loss To
New Mexico Of Thousands Of DOL
lore Annually

New Mexico OF Thousands Of Dol
lars Annually.
The HERALD is gaining SO much of q
foothold in New Mexico that matters
of general interest in that territory are
of special interest to this paper.
Some time ago patron of the paper
called attention to the law in New
Mexico on the inspection of coal oil.
The law was investigated and upon its
| face it seemed to be ia the interest OF
the consumer. The object of the law
would seem to be to protect the people
from paying seventeen or eighteen
cents for oil of ITO degrees or 112 de-
grees test which is worth only about
| twelve or thir teen cents. The cost of
| inspection was to be one cent per gal
lon so the people could by paying this
small amount extra provide good
| comfortable position for one of their
mum ber and at the same time protect
themselves from the Rockefeller COM
pany's grasping methods.
The results as pictured by the
parties who procured the passage of
the law have not been realized. Al
investigation OF the prices charged for
coal Oil 10 New Mexico shows that they
pay from to Is cents more per gallon
than does the consumer IN Ell Paso.
Not only this but those who have used
the ITO degrees test oil here and the
oil there which has passed inspection
claim that the former is the best
oil.
There is an interesting story con-
nected with the New Mexico oil busi-
ness. A number OF years ago when oil
was discovered in Colorado the Rocky
Oil company was formed, and
1t began to supply the trade of Colo
rado and New Mexico, also coming |
down as far as Ell Paso. Their oil was |
only about liz degrees test and the |
Standard Oil company secured |
the passage of the law which has be-
come SO obnoxious. They destroyed the
market as far as possible of the Rocky
in Oil company and in otn-
er ways forced them to cell control of
The wells to the great monopoly, and
the business was conducted under the
name of the Continental Oil Co.
Mr.. Browne of Browne, Manzanares
and Co. OF this city tells of an instance
which represents very clearly "before
and after" While the Rocky Noun
lain Oil company was doing business
The firm bought a shipment of oil in
hermetically sealed packages and the
Inspector condemned it as below the
statute test. A year or 80 afterwards,
'he change having been made in the
meantime from the Rocky Noun
,ain to the Continental Co..
hey having become liable for the QUAIL
ty of the oil which had been sold by
ts predecessor the agent sent the in
'pector around who declared the oil up
% proof, and stenciled it without test
ng 1t and when asked how he did it
declared that by evaporation it had
increased in proof until it was up to
;he statute test.
In Las Cruces, Rincon, Lake Valley,
0eming. and Silver City the mer-
ANTS condemn the law in unmeasured
erms, while in Alamogordo they say
the law is outrageous and no doubt
is in many cases openly defied.
There Is an agreement between the
ifferent branches of the Standard Oil
ompany that they shall not sell in
ach others territory. New Mexico is
q the territory of the Continental Oil
ompany which handles the Colorado
II exclusively. and under the trust the !
Waters Pierce Oil com pany which con-
rolls this territory cannot sell to Ala
1ogordo, consequently the merchants '
I that city are paying twenty-eight to
wen ty- nine cents for the Colorado oil !
'hich they and others claim is not
quail to the oil sold here by the Wat c
rs Pierce Oil Co. at 13t cents.
This outrageous law should be abnl-
'hed at once and the Continental Oil
ompany forced to brand their oil with {
he actual proof, with a heavy penalty !
ttsched for any violation of that re-
nlatiOn.