Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-15

OF the Standard Oil Company to reduce tbs
amount of crude oil which It would sell te
the independent roiners.
Practices Against Competing Lines.
The bill alleges that the Standard on
Company, through its various pipeline
companies, paid high prices or premiums
on Oil In limited territories adjacent to COM
peting pipe lines, thereby taking away the
business of such pipe lines; but, as soon as
the pipe lines were crushed out or purcha 9.
ed by the Standard withdraw the premi.
ums and lower the prices. !.
Also, that the Standard Oil Comnanv
held out various companies as indenenden,
companies-for instance, the Manhattan oil
Company of Ohio and the Vacuum OH Com
pany of New Worthwhile in truth and In
fact they were pipe lines owned by the
Standard Oil Company
That the Standard Oil Company under
took to and did succeed in obtaining one
half the stock Of the Producers Oil Com
pany. and $3S3, 900 out of 81 100000 of the
stock of the United States Pipe Line Com
pany, In an attempt to get control of these
companies and eliminate their competition.
The bill also sets up various contracts be-
tween the Standard Oil Company and inde-
pendent refiners, by which the Standard
markets or purchases all their product
thereby eliminating the competition of the
Independent refineries
:. Eiao orate tables of the exact rates and
dlscriminations are given, covering SUBJ
stantlaliy the entire United States.
Railroad Rates and Determinations.
1t is alleged that one of the principal
instrumentalities through which the de-
PENDANTS have been enabled to rnonopolize
the commerce in petroleum and its prod
ucts throughout the United States has
been system of preferential rates. and
rates discriminatory against the competi-
tors OF the standard Oil Company, both
IN open and published tariffs. and by and
tnrougn secret and unpublished rates,
poth interstate and intrastate, and by re-
oates' concessions and preferences grant
ca 70 the Standard Oil Company and it's
SUBSIDIARY corporations.
Inc bill goes into the details of many
or these rates, and shows a systematic
discrimination substantially all over the
United States, SO that rates from Stand
ard shipping points are very much lower,
for the same distance proportionally and
per ton per mile, than from shipping
points OF independent competing concerns.
These differences in most instances
amount to more than a reasonable profit
upon the oil; and it is alleged that these
rates were On existence until about the
time of the investigation of the Depart
ment Of Commerce and Labor in 1905 and
1906, when many of the Determinations
and unlawful rates were discontinued by
the railway companies, because it was evil
dent to them and to the Standard Oil Com
pany that such unlawful rates and prac-
tees would be made known to the public.
Control of Railroads.
1t is alleged that the railroads of the
United States have uniformly established
system of rates on petroleum and it's
products by which the rates from the sew
eral shipping points Of the Standard Oil
Company have been relatively lower I'M
der similar circumstances and conditions,
than the rates from competitive points.
That such system of discrimination has
ben obtained through the ownership and
influence of the individual defendants. and
others acting in their interest, in the va
rious railroads of the United States, and
by reaon of the fact that they were en-
abled to give such railroads large traffic
or or to take ST. such traffic away from them in
1t is alleged that the individual defend
ants and other individuals associated with
them and interested with them in the
Standard Oil Trust and the Standard Oil
Company and Its subsidiary corpora tons.
have purchased and acquired large inter-
ests in the stocks Of the principal rail
caused themselves to be elected, or have
caused other persons acting in their inter-
est to be elected, as members of the
boards of directors of such railroads, and
that by reason of such ownership and
representation on the boards of directors
Of such railroads the individual defend
ants have Influenced said railroads to es-
tablish and maintain said discriminatory
rates.
1t is alleged that by reason Of the infiu-
ence Of the defendants over the railroads
and the large tonnage which the defend
ant companies are able to control and
give to or withhold from them. the Stand
ard Oil Company, through it's subsidiary
corporations, sells substantially all of the
lubricating oils to the railroads of the
United States, amounting to exceeding
81, 100000 per annum; that by reason OF
it's monopoly of this business it charges
some railroads very much higher prices
than others, to wit, double the price.
Local Price Cutting.
1t is alleged that the Standard Oil Gem
pany has been enabled to restrain and
monopolize commerce, among other
means, by unfair methods of competition
Where an independent dealer, reflner or
jobber Of petroleum or it's products has
sold or attempted to sell in any COM
munity, the Standard would cut the price
below the cost to such independent and
in many instances below the cost to the
Standard company. until the competitor
was driven out of business, when the
price would be raised; and that all over
the United States. wherever no competi-
ton exists, the Standard has charged
very much higher prices in many in
stances nearly twice as much as in places
where competition did exist.
Another means of unfair competition
used by the Standard Oil Company was
to obtain from railroads and railroad en-
ployes full reports of the shipments of
competitors, tnuS endDl1ng the standard
Oil Company to find out where the COM
petitor was shipping or about to ship oil,
whereupon the Standard Oil Company
would go into the community and cut the
price below that of the competitor.
Bogus Independent Companies.
Another instance of such unfair COM
petition is by bogus Independent COM
paines-that is, companies held out by
the Standard to be independent, while in
truth and in fact the Standard owned
them. Such companies would uniformly
sell to the customers of the independents,
and not to the customers of the Stand
ard, and would cut the prices, thus en-
abling the Standard to maintain it's prices
on the larger part of it's business. Manv
of such companies were mere names and
not corporations at all. Others were cor
porations which the Standard had pur-
chased and held out to the world as in
dependent.
Another system was to maintain the
quoted prices of oil in various communi-
ties and to give purchasers secret re-
bates and reductions, thereby cutting the
price below what the independent could
sell at, until the Independent was ruined
and driven out of business.
Standard Oil Trust Profits.
1t is alleged that by reason of its mo-
nopoly the Standard Oil Company has
do