Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-12-30
KANSAS INDEPENDENT OIL MEN
WOULD INTEREST IoWA's
GOVERNOR
FIGHT ON STANDARD
Representative Of Antitrust OIL Pro-
ducers Ask cummIns to Aid Them
In Establishing Business in Iowa, to
Compete With the Great Corpora
tions.

Des Moines, Dec. 2s.-President w
D. Corbin of the Waterloo Oil and
Gas company and a number of his
associates were in conference with
Governor Cummins yesterday after
noon with respect to the changes In
Iowa laws which are essential to make
Des Moines and other cities of this
state distributing centers for independ.
ent oil concerns now operating in
Kansas.
Mr.. Corbin is president of the Kan.
sas City Oil and Gas company, which
has 1000 acres of proven leases In
Montgom cry county, Kansas, and oper.
ates a refinery at Kansas City. The
Waterloo Oil and Gas company was or
ganized in Des Mof1les Tuesday or it's
organization was completed by the
election of Mr. Corbin as It's president
1t has $1,00O,0o0 capital and owns
about 1900 acres of proven leases In
the best oil fields in Kansas.
Mr.. Corbin, A. M. Webster of Wash.
ington, ILL.,, Howard F. Lea of Kansas
City, T. K Elliott of Waterloo, and E.
]. Colvin of Kansas City were in the
party which called on Governor Cum.
Minis. They met here to complete the
organization of the Iowa concern and
called on the governor socially, in the
first place, but also to talk over the
proposed legislation, which was laid be.
fore him first by Governor Hoch OF
Kansas and again Tuesday by Cliff.
ford Thorne of Washington, Ia, who
is chairman Of the legislation commit.
tee of the Kansas Oil Producers asso.
ciation
Distributing Plant at Des Molnes.
TN order to do business In Iowa.
said Mr.. Corbin last night, sit is es'
sential that we be given some protec.
tion against unfair competition.
1--WE do not ask any advantage I'm.
der the law; all we want is square
deal. If the Iowa legislature will give
us what Is called an spti-discrimina-
ton law, which will Ifavent an oil
concern from cutting prices in one To-
cality without reducing prices identi-
cally in all localities ID the same
freight rate territory, vi will estab-
lish in Iowa distributing 1lants as the
demand requires. The lrst will be
in Des Moines, of coursa as 1t is the
center of the state, and som 1t others
will be supplied, of coupe.
"The Iowa freight ratd do not seem
to be so high as to mad their mate
rial reduction necessary If they are
not used discriminatory we can
compete under them Wd are assured
that the Iowa law is daftic with re-
spect to discriminatory in railroad
rates, so that even If the rates are
higher than those of oher states we
cannot complain Bu Fthe anti-dis-
elimination law with aspect to the
price of the product to the consumer
is essential to our ent.ring the field.
"The price of oil il Kansas has
been reduced just 80 per cent since
we were able to conpete with the
trust. The farmers Of Kansas buy
their oil today at just sone-half the
!. price they did two yars ago. That
is what competition MEANS in lowe
and Missouri and the other states in
: which we hope to hareaa chance tc
operate.
Profit Enormous.
Even at that there will be fail
money in it for the refhers and the
crule oil people. There lis just abou'
, 1000 per cent profit in oil as it is man
ufactured today. We can demonstrate
this. The fortunes which have beer
piled up indicate the fact to be as stat
ed.
,, ''The policy of the Standard is tx
: coop us up in Kansas apd prohibit III
) doing business outside aof that state
! If they can prevent the surroundin,
, states from enacting legislation, which
! will give us fair competition why o
; course, we are confined to Kansas
! which is bad thing for the consun
!. ers of the states which shut us out.
!, "The moment we begin to do bus
ness outside Of Kansas now we ar
compelled to retire, because the trus
simply cuts the price on us to a poin
where we cannot live BY boosting tn
r price elsewhere or by increasing tn
u o -.