Los Angeles herald., 1906-05-26
NINETEEN REVEAL
STANDARD PLOT
TELLS OF M0N0P-
OLYS OPPRESSIVE WAYS
Owns lts Own Vast Telegraph sys-
tem-spent Fortunes for Years
In Driving Out the
independents
By Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
CLEVELAND, Ohio, May 25.-Nine-
teen witnesses were called by Inter-
state Commerce Commissioners Prouty
and Clements in the Standard OIL in
qury here today
Testimony bordering on the sensa-
tonal was obtained from several wilt
nesses. That Of George l.. Lane of
Mansfield, Ohio, a former employe of
the Standard Oil company, was re-
garded as particularly important
According to his evidence Lane was
for about fourteen months in 1901 and
1902 employed by the Standard Oil
company for the particular purpose Of
driving all of the independent oil ped
dlers In dozen or more of the princi-
pal cities and towns Of northern Ohio
out of business. He said he was en-
ployed by C. M. Lyons of the Cleve-
land office of the Standard Oil COM
pany to go to certain designated
places and use every means, fair or
foul, to force the independents to quit.
He described the methods pursued in
detail.
my instructions" he said, were
to kill them, and 1 was told that If
could not do the job somebody else
would be sent to take my place.
worked in Youngstown and surround
ing small towns, Canton, Girard, War
rem, Ravenna, Massillon, Mansfield,
Elyria, Oberlin and other places. In
all of the towns with the exception
of Youngstown the Independent ped
dlers were forced to abandon their
business.
Threw Oil Away
"In youngstown a man named Will
liam H. Vahey was encountered, and
despite everything we could do he held
his trade. We gave oil away by the
barrel, and tank load. but it did no
good. Valleys customers threw II
away"
Miss Elizabeth Prothman, a stenogra-
pher and bookkeeper in the Dayton Of
fee of the Standard Oil company, tes-
titled that information concerning the
oil shipments Of rivals was brought
into the office by draymen and that
she made careful record of 1t and gave
it to her superior.
John O'Brien, general superintend-
ent of the Lima division of the Buck
eye Pipe Line company, Standard
concern, was asked particularly about
the Standards telegraph system, espe-
cially that part connected with the
pipe line company.
Owns Telegraph System
The inquiries succeeded in establish
ing the general fact that the Standard
has an immense telegraph system Of
its own extending to nearly every part
of the country, and that in carrying on
its great volume of trade it does not
often require the use of the regular
lines of the big telegraph companies.
The company has its own wires, leased
or otherwise. operators, officers, regu-
lations, blanks and other stationery,
and sometimes sends messages for per-
sons not connected with the company.
The witness denied that the company
exchanged business with the Western
Union Telegraph company at points
where one had an office and the other
did not.
D. E. Byles, secretary and treasurer
of the Independent Refining company
limited, of Oil City, Pa. offered testi-
mony concerning the railroad rate dis
elimination against his company.
Ruined by Standard
Frank J. Heimerich of Bellevue told
how his independent oil business was
all but ruined by the methods of the
Standard.
w. j. Cram of Marietta, Ohio, testi-
fed that the Standard for years hound
ed his company and that the company
was finally compelled to sell it's prop
erty at a low figure.
e. NJ. Gibbs, merchant of Upton
Ohio. said he was compelled to handle
the STANDARD Oil, because the Stand
ards agents threatened to start an
other store close by and sell every
article he sold in competition.
Special Counsel Monet had been in
formed that books of the company had
been recently burned in the works in
this city, and he subpoenaed F. w.
Miller and George Bear to testify. Both
denied that they had seen or heard of
any such occurrence and they were
speedily excused.
George L. Lewis, a lubricating oil
salesman of Chicago, told how he lost
contract with the Dayton and Troy
traction lines because the Standard
Oil lines promised freight to more than
pay for the oil.
C. b. Duffy, purchasing agent of the
Hooking Valley railroad. was called to
testify concerning the buying of lubri-
eating oils. Asked if he had not said
recently that his road would lose from
$3.50, 900 to $4,000 900 year in freightage
If he bought lubricating oils from any
other company than the Standard or
from the Aetna, he replied that he
might have made such remark but he
had no positive recollection of it. He
said that he had no instructions from
his superiors to buy these oils from the
Standard or Aetna companies.