Sistersville daily oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1902-1905, 1903-11-16
An Illogical Post.

sale price of kerosene. This means
that the consumer will have to pay
a cent and half a gallon more.
The company has also raised the
price of para6ne candles cent a
pound. One raise will add $1o,ooo,-
600 to Its yearly revenues and the
other will add 81, 900, 900. A cor
poration which has the monopoly
of great industry has suddenly
given orders that the public must
pay 1t Sill ,ooo, 900 more year than
1t has been paying. That the action
of the Standard Oh company ex
ceeds legislative power, whether by
Congress or State Legislatures, IS
emphasized by the Chicago Trib-
une, which points out that:
1.-THE public body, large or small,
does not levy taxes without giving
people due notice of Its intentions.
There Is discussion: There is an
opportunity for protests. What
ever Is done Is done In the daylight.
There Is no publicity when a pri-
vate corporation levies tribute to
the amount of millions. The direct
ors meet In a secluded room and
formulate their edict. Sometimes
1t is one man, the master OF the d.
rectors, who orders them to add to
the volume of taxes. Probably In
the case of the Standard OIL Com
paey Mr.. Rockefeller Is the sole ar
bitter of taxation. In way MIR.
Rockefeller Is a greater man than
President Roosevelt. The one can
impose tax and the other cannot.
"In theory the people who are
taxed by the Standard Oh Com
pany can de;end themselves by not
using Its products. In practice they
cannot get along without the pro.
ducts and have t pay the tax, no
matter how unjust 1t may be-
Plttsburg Post.
The above furnishes another
Illustration OF the lack of logic
among certain class OF newspapers
that believes 1t adds to their repu
tation by criIztpg the Standard On
company, without really knowing
what they are kicking about. Does
the Post or Chicago Tribune ex.
pect the Standard OH company to
pay higher price for Its crude
product without increasing the cost
of the refined article to the consum-
eI? How will 1t add $1,000, 900 to
It's revenue while paying the oil
producers $4,000 or $40, 700 day
more for their oil than they were
receiving two months ago? How
Is the producer to obtain higher
price for his product If there Is no
advance In the price to the consum-
Ell?
The price of oil Is not fixed
arbitrarily. The production of the
higher grades of petroleum has
been growing smaller, while the
demand has been increasing. In
other words the law of supply and
demand has created long wished
for advance In the price of oil and
stirred up the entire oil region to
Increased activity. The Post should
be the last paper In the world to
ind fault with the prosperity OF the
oil producer.
In the past 6 weeks the market
for Pennsylvania oil has advanced
FL cents. During the same time
refined oil In New York has sd-
vanced from 4 IS cents per gallon
to E 40 cents per gallon. This Is
for oil loaded on bulk steamers
for shipment abroad. Water
white refined oil, $50 degree fire
test, which was quoted at ID
cents gallon on September S, Is
now worth IS cents; this Is In
elusive of the barrel or other pack
age, and represents the cent a gal
lon to which the Post probably re-
fers. The advance Is perfectly le-
climate and certainly warranted
by the situation. And If matters
continue as they are the consumer
of refined oil will have to pay
still higher price than he Is doing
at present and the P, st will find a
fresh opportunity to throw a new
fit of Mysteries.
1t seems rather strange that
while the entire oil region. from
West Virginia to New York, Is re-
joicing over the higher market,
that the Post should seek to con-
strue such pleasant fact as re-
Election against the Standard Oil