Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1902-01-29
BIG DROP IN OIL.
The Cause Said to be Fear Of Texan
and Russian Competition.


The Cause Said to be Fear Of Texan
and Russian Competition.
1t was admitted today in Standard
Oil circles that the recent weakness Of
the shares Of the Standard Oil company
in the outside securities market has,
to large extent been influenced bH
the new competition that has arisen
in this country as well as in the ORR
ent. The latter is one Of the strong
holds Of the big Rockefeller concern.
The shares of the Standard OIL COM
pany are perhaps more closely held
than the securities Of any other cor
poration. The stock Is allowed to take
its own course, and at no time has sup
port by Standard Oil interests been in
evidence.
About 40 per cent. of the $100,000,000
capital stock Of the company is held
by John D. Rockefeller, while Mr..
Rockefeller and his close business as
sociates own all the stock with the ex-
ception Of something like 10000 shares,
OF the latter amount nearly all Is held
as an investment, and 1t Is seldom that
any of it finds its way to the outside
securities market. The stock Of the
Standard Oil company available for
trading purposes is limited to a few
thousand shares.
Since last May the price Of Standard
Oil stock has declined 208 points to
$632 a share, the price established Sat-
unday in the curb trading. This means
shrlnkage of $209, 100000 in the mar
ket value Of the Standard OIL Com
pany's securities. There is no consid-
erable speculative interest in Standard
Oil stock, mainly because Its price Is
prohibitive of margin trading, but 200
points is a very great deal for any
stock to fall, and especially for the
highest dividend paying stock in the
market.
No satisfactory explanation Of the
drop in Standard Oil was forthcoming
until today, when a person in close
touch with the affairs Of the company
sentured an interesting inside view Of
the situation. According to this au-
thority, there Is no truth in the state
ment that the production Of the Stand
ard Oil company is Diminishing rapid
,y. It Is true that the Pennsylvania
fields are not as productive as they
used to be, but the loss has been more
than made up by the opening Of new
regions, which are now contributing a
large part Of the company's total pro-
duction. The Standard OIL company
Is selling more oil today than ever be-
fore, but it would be no surprise to
we'll informed interests to hear that 1t
had decided to reduce its dividends
and devote the money that otherwise
would be disbursed to stockholders to
meeting the sharp competition that
lately has developed.
Russia is now producing more oil
than the United States, and although
this product Is inferior to that Of this
country, 1t is finding big market in
the Orient. 1t is feared that the rise of
Texas as an oil producing state will
also make extraordinary competition
for the Rockefeller combine, although
the Standard Oil company is a large
purchaser of the product Of the Lone
Star state.
This Texas oil, like the Russian pro-
duct, is inferior to that Of the combine,
but it is feared by the Standard Oil
&I1k h.
yet come into direct competition with
finer oil through the perfection Of re-
fining processes to the Beaumont pro-
duct. Thus competition Of a grave
character has arisen from two widely
separated quarters, and the combine Is
understood to have projected a policy
designed to forestall inroads upon its
business. It Is developing new wells
at strategic points as rapidly as possi-
BILE.
It's latest efforts in this direction
have been in Japan, where oil pros
pecting has been going forward on
considerable scale, and not without
success.
1t costs a great deal Of money to deal
with oil competition, and 1t may be
necessary to curtail dividends in order
to provide FUNDS out Of the company's
net earnings to counteract competition
from Texas and Russia, but the inside
holders Of the stock are remarkably
Indifferent about it. They say that 1t
matters very little to them what the
stock sells for in the open market.
They know what it Is worth.
The Standard Oil company paid 4S
per cent, or s4s,OOO,OOO in dividends
last year, the largest ever disbursed by
any industrial company.-New York
Commercial.