The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-12-15
KANSAS BEATING
OUT STANDARD OIL
FIVE INDEPENDENT REFINERIEs
ARE IN OPERATION.
-Four More Are Building Kansas Con-
sumption of Oil Jumped 500 Per Cent
in one Year-some Of the Obstacles
1nterposed by the Standard Company.

0LioS II opoldI1on anu !UuI UulluluS, UH6
Of them 80 nearly finished that opera
tions will be begun in fifteen days.
Another will begin selling refined oil
in January and the other two will be in
the market in four months.
A, year ago the consumption Of crude
oil by the refineries outside the Stand
ard was 200 barrels day. Now it is
1000 barrels Of crude oil a day and the
consumption is increasing steadily.
Twelve months ago the refinery at
Humboldt was selling about sixty bar
rels of refined oil day Now the indie
pendent refneries are selling more than
four plants now building are completed
the refined oil output of the independ-
ent refneries in Kansas will exceed
1900 barrels a day.
Beneficial Laws Passed.
This shows the progress Of the fight
during year for competition in the oil
business. This result the re6neries as
eribe directly to the passage Of the
Kansas anti-discrimination and the
Kansas maximum freight rate law. Tho
maximum freight rate law reduced
rates nearly 60 per cent and gives ev-
eerybody an even break. The anti
of oil at one place higher than at an
other, freight rates being equal. This
law prevents price-cutting in the terri
tory Of the independent refneries and
keeps up the price in all other parts Of
! the state.
There has already been invested in
the construction and operation Of the
and the refneries now building will
take another million.
! The first refneries built were in the
| nature OF experiments. They were
F fer the RGrPoze Of ticking care
from e Men na np eGsa oaFH Sa
widening OF, the market and the de-
mand for Independent oil over the state
has made the building of larger plants
| necessity. The largest refinery now in
| operation has capacity Of 800 barrels
crude daily. One Of those now building
will have capacity Of 5000 barrels
crude and another will have capacity
business Of the refneries was local and
limited to the immediate vicinity of the
plant. Now the business has grown to
state proportions and the Independent
refneries are putting in their own stor-
age tanks and running their own
wagons, and thoroly organizing their
forces to take care Of all the business
| offered them. ="
Not Now an Experiment.
From an experiment Of rather pitt
| fully small proportion, the independent
oil business has become demonstrated
SUCCESS; The passage Of the Hl LAYS gi ~
people to exercise their choice and buy
Independent oil. The refinery business
| appeal '1 to public sympathy for patron.
| age. It now rests it's claim upon its
ability to supply as good, if not better,
oil than the Standard Oil company. SEN
timent plays part, Of course, as it does
in almost everything else. But the
people are not asked to buy an inferior
article because it bears the Kansas
trade mark.
One effect Of the extension Of the bus
ness Of the independent reAneries has
! been a distinct Improvement in the
grades Of oil sold in this state. When
the Standard company had all the trade
| to itself almost any kind Of oil was
coed enough for Kansas, bq IT,, Whea zen the
gan selling superior grade Of oil the
Standard company at once improved the
grade Of all the oils sold by It. !.
Tricks Of Standard on.
The establishment Of the independ-
ent refneries has been in the face of
bitter opposition. There has not been
any way Of opposing these projects
that has not been resorted to. Their
credit has been attacked, they have
been described as mushroom concerns,
born in an hour, to flourish but for a
day; their customers have been * eeep''
their barrels have been mislaid, their
cars have been sidetracked, their tanks
have been tempered with, and in some
cases Standard oil Of the most inferior
| grade has been surreptitiously poured
into the tanks of the Independents in
order to ruin the trade Of the indie
pendent concerns. Railroad clerks have
been approached to find out the
names Of the customers Of the small
refneries, drivers have been watched
and followed to see where Independent
oil was delivered, threats have been
made that the Standard Oil company
would not supply the grades Of oil not
refined by the Independents. These and
a few other little things like them,
all old and threadbare in the east, are
being and have been tttried on - in the
west to hamper and harass the indie
pendents. But more powerful than all
other weapons to cripple and limit the
business Of the independent refneries
has been that Of railroad rates. AS
things now stand 1t is impossible for
an Independent refinery to do business
outside Of the state Of Kansas at g.
I profit. With what they consider a fair
freight rate, The independent refneries
could get into the markets of Oklaho-
ma, Indian Territory, Missouri, Ne
sis and sell twice as much oil as they
are now nrodncino q =,