The Jersey City news., 1906-12-01
OIL Trusts METHODS
Independent Dealers Accuse the
Standard of Inducing Rail-
road to Fight Them.
THEIR TANK CARS HELD UF


and Then suddenly Cooled Toward,
It-RocSefellers Among Directors o.
D., Z. and W., Against Which Charges
Are Made.
New York, Dec. bearing out hi;
complaint against the Standard 0i
company, David 2. Davis Of the Pres
ton & Davis OIL company, Brooklyn
told the interstate commerce commits
sion that the Rockefeller concern had
been instrumental in having the Della
ware, Lackawanna and Western rail.
road stop delivery OF oil in tank cars
to the Preston s Davis copl4an II
the course Of the hearing an teresting
story was told of the manipulations CT
the Standard Oil.
The complaint of the independent
company charges unjust discrimiAation
against the railroad for declining fur
ther to deliver oil in tank cars at the
Wallabout terminal It is alleged that
the discrimination was credited to the
Standard OILS influence to bear on thR
Iackawanna One OF the first factS
developed at the hearing was that VII.
liam Rockefeller and John D. Rookie
felIer, Jr.s are among the directors Of
the Lackawanna road
Took BUSINESS at First.
Henry A. Powell counsel for the
compliments, said that at first the
railroad gladly accepted the business
of Preston & Davis and then suddenly
cooled toward it. The lawyer said
that. one of the reasons advanced was
the danger of fire from dripping oil,
but it was asserted that this was
condition prevalent in all the oil termi-
nails around the city.
The excuse OF danger of fire was Of
fered by counsel for the railroad.
Davis is q former state senator. He
told the full history of the firm OF
Preston & Davis and traced the alleg-
ed underhand dealing against It by
Standard Oil. The witness said the
company was organized Ia 1880 and
conducted a family business. Oil was
bought from the Standard Oil eompa-
ny.
The new firm prospered from the
starr, out it was not long before it had
a rival. This was the aIehlen Family
Oil company, which apparently vas or
ganized to fight Preston & Davis. Da-
Wis swore t:fat after long inquiry Is
was found that the company was own
ed in its entirety by the Standard Oil
company. Davis said the business was
profitable until the price Of Oil barrels
was suddenly. reduced. Much Of the
proAt came from the sale Of empty
barrels, and IN day this profit was
wiped out by. some hidden hand. In
four years, from 1898 to 1897, business
was doubled, but in 1898 the standard
Oil doubled the price OF the oil by
steady rises, while. SO the witness said,
the Mehlen Family Oil company never
raised its retail price.
Esroed Out OF Business.
In this year the firm operated At q
loss, and Davis went to the Standard
officials and complained that the price
of oil was so high that there was no
pIoSpGCL VI CuulluutIiS Ii bU5t44t-9s t1At-
less the rate was lowered. He was
told the price would Sand and that he
could take the oil or leave it. Davis
then succeeded in making arrange
ments to receive oil from independent
fields, and on Dec "a, 1902, the first
tank car was delivered.
A business of from 5000 to 5000
barrels day was built up, and then
the railroads complaints began. De
murrage was demanded and paid. and
it was repeatedly claimed that too
much track room was occupied, When
the company met these grievances
there came the complaint that fire was
threatened
Davis denied that there was any
danger of a fire.