The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-12-04
Manner in Which the Big Com
pany Does Business.
Keeps the Independent Concerns
Guessing Night and Day.
VERY SMOOTH INDEED.
Laws of the Last Session of the
Legislature Evaded.
GrOcers of lola Refuse to Handle
the Trusts Products.

/ Cherryvale, Kan, Dec. 4.-The ways
Of the STANDARD Oil company are many
4 and always up to date. No matter how
/ apparently stringent the laws there al
ways appears to be a way to evade
them.
Try as they viii the Kansas refiners
cannot get away from the spell which
the Standard seems to have cast over
the oil industry of the entire world.
The last session of the legislature
passed two laws. One was a maximum
frefFht rate law prohibiting the rail-
roads from charging more than a speci
nea amount Tor d certain distance. This
| tariff is now in force on all the railroads
/ in the state. Then it passed another
law, the anti-discriminatio law, which
FORBADE the charging OF more at one
place than another for the same COM
modify, freight rates being equal
The people thought they had the
Standard harnessed up at least in a
measure. But there are other ways than
getting rebates and selling oil cheaper
than your competitors
For instance, there was a car stand
ing on the sidetracl1s at Kansas City
the other day. 1t was from the Web
ster refinery, an independent concern at
Humboldt. This car was all right. Next
to it was a Standard car Somebody
during the night il is charged, smeared
crude oil all over the top of the Web
ster car, and then somebody else re-
ported to the transportation department
of the road that the car was leaking,
and so it was set on a sidetraek and
left there for days and days, when, as a
matter of fact, and subsequent develop
ments proved, there was no leakage to
lost the use of the car for a Sufficient
length of time to cripple it because it
has no more cars than it can use at
any time.
Another Trick of the Trade.
Then there is habit of putting cheap
oil in barrels with the best brands on
them. The oil business is not like the
whisky business barrel can be used
again and again. So sometimes a cheap
grade of oil in q Perfection barrel is
sold to a dealer as Perfection. The
dealers of Kansas are not educated to
the oil business or the tricks of it and
they take the cheap oil unquestioningly,
and, when their customers kick. charge
it up to some error in refining that par
ticular bunch of crude and explain 1t
that way.
Then there is the other way it is
charged of shipping oil in other 9barrels
than those made by the Standard or
for the Standard. A great portion of
the barrels used in the trade in this
part of the world at the present day are
barrels maze lot the ItCpuDllC Ol4 GULL
pany by the Great western Manufactur-
ing company at Cleveland, o., and yet
the Republic Oil company in the courts
of Missouri, at this minute is denying
that it has any connection directly or
Indirectly with the Standard Oil COM
pany.
Standard Is Frank.
The independent refneries are none
of them able to supply enough gasoline
to take care of their trade When the
dealer applies to the agent OF the
Standard Oil company for gasoline the
Standard Oil agent is always Just out
When the dealer presses him for an
answer as to when he will be in, the
agent of the Standard answers that he
does not know. One candid agent OF
the Standard when pressed to the nail
for an answer as to When he would
supply. gasoline or why he would not
supply it, frankly said: why don't
YOU get your gasoline where you get
your oil2'
More Standard Tactics.
The independent rehneries all have
their own cans and their own cars.
when the empty barrels are returned
they are set on the platform. The
Standard driver comes along. II IS sara
and grabs them and carries them TO the
Standard warehouse
cans. When asked why he did it, he
says that he supposed that they be-
l0nged to the Standard. But 1t is no
ficeable that the Standard never re-
turns these things until it is forced to
do So. and in one case in Kansas City
it REQUIRED the threat of repleVln suit
TO make the Standard return some cans
belonging to one oil company Inc
same thing has happened all along the
line wherever there is an Independent
concern
Stin the Independent refneries have
not lost heart They are looking with
hopeful eyes to the president to help !
free them from the thraldom of unjust /
freight rates and they looking TO the
people of the west to buy their oil ana
the people of the west are doing II. "A
oaee in point-there came up at lola a /
few DAYS ago a question of experiment. |
ing with crude oil on the streets. The |
area was block The Standard Oil /
company offered to give the oil. The
council declined it and paid for the Oil
from an independent producer.
Fight the Standard.
And all of the grocers in this town !
signed a pledge that they would not |
Da tronize the Standard Oil company as /
long as they could get independent oil /
Tt is the sentiment of the people. They /
are determined that 49, Independent re- /
fneries are to have a fair show and |
thew are giving it. In some of the towns /
none of the people will buy their gro
ceries of a man who patronizes the |
Standard
Judge HOlt's Residence Robbed.
Kansas City, Kan. Dec. 4.-When |