Sistersville daily oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1902-1905, 1902-11-03

rehned trade OF the KennSyISonAo
product, and the refners not con-
nected with the Standard OH com
pany handle about like percent
age of the Ohio ond Indiana oils.
The highly profitable conditions OF
the refined oil trade has enabled
the refners of both products to
make enormous sums on their In
vestmeuts In refining plants.
The margin between the crude
oil paid the oil producers and the
price obtained by the re6uers has
been Fixed In favor of the latter.
Oh producers have long recognized
the Injustice of the fixed difference
between the crude and manufac-
tured oils. The producers assume
all the risk of searching for new
fields, and the reports of monthly
field operations show that twenty
FIVE per cent of the wells drilled
are dry. For years the Standard
Oh company have had the oil pro
duceIs In shackles, the shackles be-
Ing about the same as the whole
nation now wear by reason OF Trust
regime. The whole country Is now
experiencing the same conditions
under which the oil producers have
Ilabored tor years, With all the
conditions In favor of higher prices
the Standard are vely slow In max.
ing prices that will insure profit
of meager proportions to the pro-
ducers, but they fix prices for man.
utactured products that make all
refners immensely wealthy who
follow their prices.
There has been considerable talk
of the growing competition of the
Pure Oil company, an organization
composed of a combination Of indie
pendent producers and re6ners, but
the competition If any exists. does
not make its appearance on the
surface, and no one has yet acquired
any material benefit from 1t. The
amount OF oil handled by this alleged
competitor Is about the same as 1t
handled some eight or ten years
ago when Its tanks were filled
and Its lines became copgested for
want of a market. The investment
In pipe lines has increased more
than fourfold and now 1t has been
Obliged to extend Its operations to
the West Virginia fields at an enor'
NOUS expense without materially
increasing Its supply.
Speculation In oil although oil
at present quotations Is one of the
cheapest products-is practically
dead. There are now outstanding
but about 500 oil certificates as
shown by the last monthly pipe
line report, and 1t Is more than
probable that these are In the
hands of Standard Oil company's
agents ready for cancellation as
occasion demands or stocks become
further reduced
The shipments for the current
mouth are very large of both Penn.
sylvania and Ohio products and
stocks are liable to be greatly re.
duced. The stocks of Pennsylva-
MA oil are largely confined to wide
Iy scattered storage tanks and con-
sst principally OF heavy unmer-
charitable oil unavailable for ship.
ment except 1t be steamed, slow
and expensive process. The large
shipments are so far IN excess of
the daily runs from the wells that
it Is generally believed that the oil
Is not owned by the shippers but
is owned by the holders of credit
balances who will be forced TO take
whatever price the Standard Oh
company may fix when they desire
10 sell. In other words the Stand
ard Oh company runs the oil from
t producers tanks which 1t keeps