Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1906-05-18
STANDARD OIL
MAKES REPLY
EMPHATIC IN IT'S DENIAL OF
BENEFITS FROM RAILROADS
GARFIELDONLY theories
Its Prosperity Is Due Solely to Eco
nomic and Elaborate Manufacture
And Administration.

New ofk, May It. ne otdHuhIu
Oil company today issued to its share
holders a statement in reply to the
special message recently sent to Con-
gress by President Roosevelt, and TO
tie report on the countly's oil indus
try by Commissioner Garfield, which
accompanied ii. The statement is
signed by c. NJ. Pratt, secretary, and
was isued by order of the board OF
directors. 1t denies positively the
charge that the Standard Oil com
pany has benefited by secret rates
the transportation of its products.
Whatever measure of prosperity
it has enjoyed" says the statement,
sis not trsceable to illegal and appre-
hensibe methods, but to its economic
and elaborate industrial organization,
covering, as il does, every detail of
transportation, manufacture and ad-
ministration. The statement de-
clares that "the estimate that the
company saves $750,OO0 a year throu
the operation of certain freight rates,
could only have been arrived at by
theorizing.'
After an investigation of the ship
ments, during a period of about fif-
teen years, over more than 2OO,OOO
miles of railway, the commissioner is
not able to show that the Standard
Oil company received single rebate
on its interstate shipments. lie has
only been able to call the attention
to few instances in which the rate
question, in his opinion, required an
explanation. If Garfield doubted the
regularity of these rates he might
have brought them to the attention
of the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion, when the question at issue could
have been determined In the alb
sence of such determination 1t Is
surely not within limits of fairness
for the bureau of corporations to cast
aspersions upon great corporation.
Concerning Kansas the statement
says: "In this section of the report
the only reference to Kansas Is that
there are some unfair open rates
matters too vague to answer, and a
statement that a more important dis
elimination, lies in the arbitrary
weights fixed by the railways on
crude and fuel oil. As is known to
every shipper of oil in the United
States il has been the general custom
of the railways to assess the weights
of all liquid products of petroleum
at an estimated average of six and
four-tenths pounds per gallon, and 1t
is o expressed in the tariffs. This In
cludes fuel oil which weighs more
than six and four-tenths pounds per
gallon, and gasoline and napthas
which weigh less. Every refinery in
the United States makes interstate
shipments under these conditions. An
exception, however, to this general
rule was made by the roads running
out of Kansas. On the theory that
crude oil was not included in the gen
cral average of six and four-tentns
pounds the Kansas railroads applied
the weight of seven and four-tenths
pounds to crude oil. The Standard
Oil company, as explained to Garfield
objected to the advance weight on
crude oil, but its objection was un'
needed by the railroads,and yet,not'
withstanding the foregoing explana'
ton the commissioner is including the
Kansas weight rule in the list OF
things making for favoriteism from
the railroads to the Standard On
company"