Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1903-11-05
Railroads, Not Tariffs, Build Up Trusts.

appear in December McCluro's Mag
azine reviews the great fact that was
cleared up in the first part Of the
history, which ended in the July
number, which is that whatever
the mouey-making genius of Mr.. j.
ID. ockefe.ler, the Standard Oil trust
could never have been created had
it not been Tor the special and Illegal
rebates on transportation which Mr..
Rockefeller was able to wrest from
the oil carry ing railroads.
The article Is not only an an
nouncment OF the continuance OF the
history, it is a welI-timed argument
of the subject of railroad freight dis
ordinations, and applies, ns every
argument on the subject does, quite
as much to the necessity for state
and national authority to check and
control. II considers the situation
81 years ago, when the Standard Oil
company, a partnership, was organ
lied with n capital OF 100000. 1t
could buy crude oil no cheaper than
the others. 1t owned no superior
processes and had never invented
anything. The former were no more
skilled refiners than their competi-
tors. They had the same markets to
go uto-markets that really belonged
to their competitors, who had devel-
oped the trade in them. Under all
rules of fair play and equal advan-
tage the Rockefeller company was
really handicapped and ought never
to have got ahead OF the old com
panies. But 1t was not organized to
make fair fight for business. In a
fair fight it could not have won. 1t
sought and obtained advantage over
its rivals in the matter Of trauspor-
tation.
Ths Standard was organized ut the |
time when there was Il fierce compe-
tition amoag the railroads for freight |
and the roads were making secret |
rates to important shippers and To-
ca!ities to the disadvantage of others |
less important. The charters of tie |
roads forbid the practice, but the
managers OF the roads paid no at
tention to that. Their obligations, |
under their charters, to treat all in
terests alike without discrimination !
were treated with contempt. Secret
rebates were demanded and con-
ceded, giving the concerns having
them killing advantage in the
market where the competition was
fierce, as it was at that time.
1t is not remarkable thing at all
that there should have been men in
the oil business willing to take adj
vantage OF the criminal disposition
Of the railroads 10 trample upon law
and the rights Of the great majority
of the people in the oil country. And
one of the first men to appreciate
the enormous advantage of freight
rates that his competitors could not
get, and with n disposition to take
advantage of it, was Mr.. Rockefeller.
who was pt the head of the new
company. In 1870 he had cotracts
with tho railroads under which
crude OH was delivered at his Cleve-
land rennerios. and retired oil from
his reflnerIes to New York, that
bound the roads to give him lower
rates than they gave toanybody else
Two wears later I've had an agree
ment with certain railroads hy which
he was not only to have lower rates
than anybody else could get, but he
was to have d drawback on the ship
ments OF other people, For instance:
If it cost Mr.. Rockefeller $3.50 a bar
rel to ship oil from Cleveland to Ne1 /