The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-06-28
AT The REFINERY.
Workings of the Standards
Plant at Whiting.
As Seen by the Eyes Of a Kansas
Newspaper Man.
1T COVERS $40 ACRES.
Not a Thing Is Wasted by the
Careful Employees.
Population of 1000 With Prob
ably Fifty Saloons.
IT COVERS $40 ACRES.

Chanute Kan. June 2S.-CIyde II.
Knox. a Sedan NEWSPAPER man, has just
returned from Whiting, md, where he
made a personal inspection of the STAN
dard refinery at that point. His story
OF that immense establishment. the
greatest of its kind in the world. is of
especial interest in view Of the near
completion Of the Whiting line connect
ing the Kansas field with the Atlantic
seaboard- In describing the Whiting
plant. MI Knox says:
Story. OF the Town.
Whiting is located seventeen miles
goutheast of Chicago. just over the In
diana line, on the south beach of Lake
Michigan. It is one of the dirtiest
places in the entire state of Indiana
because its sole industry is the NAM
moth oil refinery, and the refinery eunits
more smoke than do half dozen pack
ing plants. Then the soil is a combina-
Eion Of sand and loan that flies out frOm
under your feet like dust at every step.
The population is close to 5000 and
there are probably fifty saloons. A
solid row Of these. one after another,
fronts the refinery office and greets the
g1ll-begrimed employee as he comes out
OF the big yard gate at 4:3O p. m. Three
trunk lines of railroad, besides an cleo
trio line, furnish transportation to Chi
caEo. which draws most Of the trade
from Whiting The refinery Is managed
by ". z. warwick, who lives at Whit
ing, as do many of the plants employees.
All Of the men are urged to live there,
80 they viii be handy in case Of fire, but
many Of them have homes in South
Chicago, a few miles north, which is
much prettier place. The plant was
built in 1880 by W. p. COWan, now a
vice president OF the Standard and IN
charge Of its Chicago offices at No.
wabash avenue. It covers $40 acres
and It's cost complete must have been
fully 5000, 600. 1t employs 1900 men,
and at present is using about II 600 bar
rels Of crude oil per day.
Such, in brief, is the story of Whit
ing and Of the refinery, for they are one
and the same. Before you can go
through it you must call at Mr.. Cowan's
Office in Chicago. There you are met
by a nicely groomed negro usher, who
takes your card and presents it to the
vice president Of the great oil company
In a moment you are ushered into q
fine, large room, plain and unadorned
except by wall maps and nice oak furni-
ture. 1t is private office and there
are no clicking typewriters to disturb
the conversation The secretary cones
at the touch of a button, and his in
srIuct1ous being received, he ret1res
promptly Then you are alone with a
polished. kindly man, who inquiries all
about Kansas and her vast oil output.
He answers all questions promptly He
pulls down a wall map and shows you
at a glance where the Standard has
bases Of supply; where It has refneries,
where it gets It's besC OIL sn1 the poor
est, where its docks are and, in fact,
you cannot ind a place anywhere on
the map that the Standard is not there.
Msps Of the re1neries at Neodesha and
Sugar Creek are shown, but, compared
20 Whiting, they are insignificant. With
q promise that he will come out to
Peru and see the Kansas state refinery
when it is completed. and with his
hearty haudshake and best wishes, you
take the pass that ne has given you
gnd depart for Whiting to see the Stan
dard in action at close range.
Visitor Treated Well.
Arriving at Whiting you enter q
two-story brick building that stands
alone In the center Of big yard, into
which, by long and vigilant effort, a
due stand Of bluegrass has been coaxed.
There you present your credentials to
AR. Warwick, a middle-aged man who
has worked his way clear I'D to the
guperintendent's job by fifteen years of
service at the plant He went there
from an Iowa farm when the refinery
was being built, and is now at the head
of it under Mr.. COWan as a reward of
faithful service. Mr.. Warwick shows
you through the plant, which requires
fully three hours Of constant rapid
walking. Entering at the tinshop
where the cans and tin barrels are made
you emerge at the door of the barrel
factory, a mile away, having witnessed
q perfect panorama of the transforma-
zion Of crude oil into kerosene, gasoline
1ubricating oil, grease, paraffin. wax
a.nd probably 200 other by-products. TIC
explain the process is fmpOSsi ble-fOl
the Standard. too, has secrets; to des-
crioe the products would require endless
space Every part of the crude oil Is
utilized. and the chemists OF the Stan
dard have been kept busy until they
ar II
part Of every drop Of oil that enters
the pine line far over in the Ohio anC
Pennsylvania fields, many miles away
Nothing Is Wasted.
Herein lies at least one element o.
the Standards success Nothing gOei
20 waste The grounds are provided
with an oil sewerage system tina
drains all the waste oil to a common
center, where 1t is separated from tn
water and then refined Then Whel
the water is turned back toward tn
lake it, too. must be filtered, and wha
stray oil there is in it yet must go bacI
to the tank. The same care is takel
in every part of the plant to save tn
waste Of that department, whether i
be grease, oil or wax. 1t is a grea
lesson in business education to g
through this plant and see the econ
omy and care employed in every de
tail by the great Standard Oil Com
pany- The same rules would help an.
small business and many a man WOul
be saved financial embarrassment b.
employing even the least of the Stand
ards methods of economy. On ever
hand you observe perfection of bust
ness method and system-mOre, Vastl
more of it, than you find in packing
plant, railroad shop or any other grea
industry No one has ever yet beel
able 10 charge the Standard with care
hessness in any degree.
'It has been frequently said that tn
STANDARD makes It's money on the by
products Of the oil This is proba bl
true IT undoubtedly makes some OF
them. or 1t would never have gone t.
the expense of erecting separate plant
for the manufacture of these articles
Take the paraffin or the candle plant
Each alone occupies mammoth build
ings covering blocks of ground. TIL
same is true Of the axle grease and lu