The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-04-05

Replies were received from 1s578j
dealers in all parts of the Union, and /
these have been compiled and pre-
scented in tabulated form so as to be
readily cOmprehended- These tables
are arranged to show the wholesale
cost of the commodity the current /
freight charge, the retail price and the
dealers profit. What the consumer
pays for any article must pay the
profits Of the retailer, the wholesale
jobber, the transportation company /
and the manufacturer. In the case of
Illuminating oil, most dealers buy d. |
rectly from original sources. and there /
is no middleman's profit IN the trans 4
action Sugar and baking powder. on /
the other hand, are bought almost in 1
variably from the wholesale dealers.
Salt is purchased by some retailers di-
rect from the manufacturer while /
many depend upon the Jpbbers Tor /
their supply.
AS might have been anticipated
from an inquiry of this kind, there is
a wide variation as to the results and
the conclusions to be drawn are of |
comparatively little value. Nothing at i
all is shown to substantiate the charge |
that the manufacturer makes any dis |
elimination in the wholesale prices for |
or against certain localities, and the |
freight charges appear to be fairly |
based upon the distance of the con- |
sumner from the point of manufacture |
and the number of miles that the COM |
modify is to be transported. IF any
thing positive is shown, it is that the |
retailer, the final medium IN the
transaction between the producer and |
the consumer, makes on the average, !
the greatest profit of all.
In the general tables setting forth |
the replies to these schedules the |
names of the towns from which the |
replies were received are presented /
alphabetically under each state. The |
tables also show from whom the oil is |
obtained, whether 1t is delivered /
1t :, 1-1 a
the point from which it is shipped. |
with the freight rate to the point of
destination. The wholesale price paid
by the dealer, the price at which. it is |
sold to the consumer, the retail deal |
er'S net profit per gallon and his per- !
centage of gain are likewise exhibited. |
The report of the commission says: |
ut is especially to be noted that n
large majority Of the dealers buy their !
oil from local tank stations or delivery |
wagons, having, accordingly, no
freight or carriage to pay. Almost al
ways, too, they buy from the original
refiner. and not from a jobber."
''WhiIe oil is thus a much more bulky
commodity in proportion to its value
than either sugar or baking powder, the |
freight rate charged per hundred |
weight does not differ greatly from that
charged for sugar, although it is ma
terially lower than that for baking pow |
der. Rates on salt per hundred weight
are usually from 10 to so per cent lower !
in less than carload lots falls in the
third of the six classes of the official
or eastern classification and thus is a
rather expensive article to transport in
that manner. Very seldom, however, is |
oil shipped any considerable distance
in less than carload lots, especially in
the more densely settled parts of the
country. In carload lots oil in barrels
takes fourth class under the official
classification, while in tank cars, the
ordinary method of shipment for longer
distances, it takes commodity rates, |
which each railroad determines for
itself. These commodity rates differ
considerably on different railroads. even
within the territory of any one OF the
three freight classifications which apply
in the great divisions of the country. By
way of illustrating the relation of oil
rates to those on other products, the
following specific cases may be cited:
From Oil City, Pa, to Chicago and New
York, territory within the scope of the
Official classification, the freight rates
on petroleum and its products IN tank
cars are about equal to fourth-class
rates. In the territory of the Southern
classification, barreled oil in part car
loads is third class, while in carload
lots, whether in barrels or tank cars, it
falls in the lowest, or sixth class. In
shipments from the Ohio river south,
however, special commodity rates apply.
The rates from Cincinnati and Louis
vile, for example, to Montgomery, At
lanta, and other leading Southern points,
are from 10 to 80 per cent less than the
Sixth-class rates. Commodity rates on
oil from Chicago and Peoria to Missouri
river points in the territory of the
Western classification are nearly the
same as the rates on fifth-class com
modities." The reports of forty dealers
in Kansas show the following: