The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-01-20
in BATTLE ARRAY.
Kansas Oil Mem Begin Fight for
Lives.
Levy an Assessment of so Cents
Per Well.
OPEN ON TIE STANDARD
VIII Open Headquarters in
Topeka.
~
OPEN ON TIE STANDARD
Committee Appointed to Look
After LegisIstiOn.

field will be taxed fifty cents a month
for as long time as is necessary to
furnish funds to carry on the fight for
tt protection of the Kansas oil in
dustries against Standard Oil en-
oroachment.
That was the decision reached at
the meeting of the oil men held in
Topeka yesterday afternoon. Every
company, private individual, or cor
poration owning oil wells in the Kan
sas districts will be asked to contribute
so cents a month to the fund.
1t is not anticipated that a single
well owner will refuse to voluntarily
come up with the respective proper
ton of the tax which has been decided
upon.
In less than five minutes after this
move was decided upon at the meet
ing yesterday, several hundred dollars
were turned in to the treasurer of the
association.
A committee consisting of ]. o.
Fife of Chanute, J. NJ. Parker of In
dependence. L. H. Perkins of Law
renee, D. J. Stewart of Humboldt and
H. Z. West of Peru has been selected
to remain in Topeka and assist the
members of the legislature in framing
bills which will cover all the con-
| tingencies of the emergency in which
the oil industries of the state find
themselves placed Headquarters will
be maintained at the Copeland.
M. L. Lockwood of independence,
big oil producer, in a public state
ment, briefly outlines some of the his
tory of the Standard Oil in Kansas.
He says:
''The salvation of the oil industry in
Kansas depends upon a state refinery.
The Standard threw down the bars
after making a failure of bringing in
wells in Kansas, and invited oil pro-
field. After development reached a
certain point, the trust began its
squeeze. 1t began to drop the price
of OIL Tt is the only buyer of crude
oil and the only seller of refined oil.
OIL dropped from $1.38 to 81 cents a
barrel, and will go down still further.
Still refined oil is advancing in price
to the Kansas people.
ships at New York and on the gulf for
II cents a gallon. It charges the
people of Kansas about 12 cents a gal
Ion for the same grade of oil. The
petition in European markets and has
a monopoly on the trade at home. It
bleedS the producers and the consum-
erS here. While it is paving 81 cents
a barrel for crude, it is getting 81 5 s
a barrel for it's best refined, and it
only costs three-eighths of a cent a
gallon to refine oil. No wonder the
tr-.st can declare 4S per cent dividends
on its watered stock.
1.-The Standard means TO conffscate
the oil property in the Kansas held. 1t
has forced the railroads into a con
Spiracy for that purpose. It is alb
soluIely impossible for an 1ndepend-
ent producer to get his crude oil on
the Kansas City market because of
prohibitive freight rates. If the roads
were not in the conspiracy, there
WoLld be a dozen Independent re-
fincries in the field today. Individuals
cannot fight the oil trust and the rail-
roads combined. The roads have re-
Gently advanced rates so high that the
Webster refinery at Humboldt an in
dependent refinery, is completely shut
out OF Kansas City.
"a Standard Oil man on the train
last night said that if the state put in
a refinery the Standard would put
down the price of refined oil to cents
a gallon in order to make the state
people of Kansas like that threat? fl
the Standard will do that, why would |
it not be a good thing to put in a |
state plant? The people would get
matter to them if the state plant did
lose a little money. The people could |
afford to put in several state plants if
they could get their oil for cents a |
gallon instead of 1S cents
'The state should put in a re-
hnery of 1000 barrels daily capacity /
and run it by convict labor. Then |
pass a law prohibiting the discrimina- !
tions in railroad rates. That would
hit the trust a blow If the railroads /
then linked up with the oil trust in a |
conspiracy by still discriminating the /
state could prosecute them, send them !
to prison to make barrels for the state I
refinery. The roads would not dis |
criminate against the state. They
wouldn't dare do it. They can dis |
criminate against Individuals
G.. H. Crawford, producer said /
that the trust wouldn't let a merchant
pay the freight bill on refined oil. It
pays it itself. ''Why?'' said he. Be !
know how cheap it gets its oil
hauled
Amos Steelsmith, another producer,
who has built one or two refineries in
his time, says the state can put up a
1000 barrel refinery for about $685.
jump The plant will either make a
big profit or the people will get their /
oil cheap Either way means a profit !
for the state I
Gas Bill Is In.
Senator Samuel Porter this morn
ing introduced in the senate the bill /
asked for by the natural gas delega-
tion which met the senate and house
committees on Thursday.
The bill provides that natural gas
shall be transported only in pipes
which have been tested 400 pounds
pressure. The delegation wished to
have in the bill that not more than
ed. Senator Porter objected to the
limiting of the pressure and he struck
out the clause before introducing the
bill. The bill also provides that the
use of pumps in forcing gas shall be
unlawful This provision is for the
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