The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-05-15
STANDARD OIL Co. AND RAILROAD
Witnesses Disclose Tricks of the
Company
Employees OF Railroads and Manufac-
turing Companies Bribed-Wire and
Nail Mill Compelled to Shut Down
Because of Grit Placed i'm Oil Pur-
chased of an Independent Company.

IuIcdSO, May 12-lnveSugau0n or
the interstate commerce commission
into the relations between the Stand
ard Oil Company and the railroads was
concluded this afternoon, as far as this
is concerned and will be resumed il
Cleveland on May "A.
F. S. Hibbs, of Peoria. who was f.r
Is years in the employment Of The
Standard Oil Company today how the
agents of the Standard Oil Company
tricked customers into thinking
that the product of their COM
pany was superior to the produc,
of independent companies. He gave
the names of men whom b had
bribed to give information of the busl-
ness of competitors, and on cross ex-
animation declared the Standard Oil
Company is doing all of those things
today Other witnesses told Of crib
ing employees of railroads and manu-
featuring companies and one instance
was related where wire and nail mill
in Indiana was compelled to shut down
because grit had been placed in the
oil, purchased of an Independent con-
Germ, at the instance of a salesman of
the Standard Oil Company.
Illustrating a number Of tricks which
he said were used by statesmen and
agents of the Standard Oil Company,
witness Hibbs said:
''In testing the oil Of rival COM
pany," said Mr. Hibbs, I'VE used new
chimney and the magnesia in the glass
makes the chimney look cloudy. For
our own use we had an old chimney
with the wick perfectly dried out and
not too long We used to rub a mois-
tened finger across the wick OF the
competitor and after it burned a shor-
time the damp spot would be reached,
the light would grow dim and there
would be sputtering. All this time our
light would be burning brightly. Car
wicks were trimmed so as to make a
thin flame and those Of the cOmpeti-
tors we trimmed so as to make 2
thick flame. The thinner the flame,
the whittier the light. Then we would
often bend down the lower part OF the
burner and let air in under the chin
ney which would cause the lamp to
smoke. Some times We would fill mp
some of the ventilating holes around
the burner with chewing gum.
''I resorted to those tricks only
when a competitor was selling oil in
a town and I wanted to get rid Of
him."
The witness named five towns in IL
linois where he had convinced custom
ers that the oil of the Standard Oil
Company is superior while as a matter
of fact it was inferior.
The witness gave specific instances
where he had bribed railroad employees
while he was in the employ of the
Standard Oil Company to get informa-
ton regarding shipments made by the
Royal Oil Company, he said he had
paid a freight hand of the Iowa Cen
trail railroad 50 month to get him GER
tain information. He said the com
pany always urged agents never to re-
member names or facts connected with
the obtaining information about RI
walls. The witness then detailed 4
plan he had used to make trouble for
! the Standard Oil Company. He wouid
! induce a business man to give him
| fake order for oil and then show IL 10
the agents of the Standard Oil Com
pany. who would give him a presenf
| to get him to buy oil from the STAND
ard Oil COMPANY.