The San Francisco call., 1906-05-26
HIRED TO CRUSH
OIL COMPANIES
Standard Employe Tells
of His Work in State
of Ohio.

CLEVELAND. o.. May 25.-George
L. Lane, an employe Of the Standard
Oil Company previous to 1901, t6S.
titled at the Interstate Commerce
Commission Standard Oil hearing
this afternoon that his business for
several years for the Standard Oil
Company was to drive out the inde-
pendent dealers. to kill them on. and
he was told that II he could not do
the work somebody else would be
sent to put the Standards competi-
tors out Of business.
II was given rigid instructions and
I followed them as closely as pos
sfble I succeeded in driving out all
competition in a dozen big towns in
Northern Ohio. and the only failure
! made was in Youngstown, where a
man by the name Of Fahey stuck it
out. Notwithstanding that we spent
as high as S6 a gallon to give oil
away. The. whole idea was to dis
courage the small independent deal
erS. buy his customers up at any
cost. We represented ourselves as
Independents. but we got our supplies
from the Standard"
William Ebbinger of Marietta, o..
testified that the Standard. by its
well known tactics. had crowded him
out OF the oil business.
Miss Elizabeth Protsenan. stenogra-
pher and bookkeeper in the l. aytor (OhIol
off1ce of the Standard OIL Company. testi-
fed that information concerning the oil
shipments OF rivals was brought into tha
office by draymen. and that she made a
careful record Of them and gave IL to her
superior.
John O'Beirn. general superintendent OF
the Lima division OF the Buckeye Pipe
Line Company, a Standard Oil Concern.
was asked particularly about the Stand
ard OILS telegraph system. especially that
part connected with the pipe hne com
pany. The inquiries succeeded in estab-
fishing the general fact that the Stand
ard Oil has an immense telegraph system
or its own. extending to nearly every part
OF the country and that in carrying on
its great volume Of trade il does not often
require the use Of the regular lines of the
Dig telegraph companies. The company
has It's own wires, leased or otherwise
operators. offices. regulations. blanks and
other stationery, ana sometimes sends
messages for persons not connected with
the company.
The witnesses declared that the COM
pany exchanged business with the west
ern Union Telegraph Company at points
where one had an Office and the other
did not
d. E. Byles. secretary ana treasurer Of
tne independent Refining Company. Linz
ited. OF OIL City. Pa. offered testimony
concerning lie railroad-rate discrimina-
ton against his company.
Frank J. Heimerich Of Bellevue Ohio
told how his independent Oh business vas
all but ruined by the methods OF the
Standard oil.
W. J. Cram OF Marietta. Ohio. testissa
that the Standard OH for years bounded
his company. and that the company was
nnaily compelled to sen its property at q
low figure.
E. ~ Gibbs. a merchant OF rYptou.
Ohio. said he was compelled to handle the
standard Company's oil. because the
Standard CS's agents threatened TO start
another store close by and sell every ar
ticle he sold in Competition
Special Counsel Monnett had been in
formed that books of the company had
been recently burned In the works in this
city, and he subpenaed f. W. Miller and
George Bear to testify. Both denied that
they had seen or heard Of any such oc-
currence. and they were speedily excused.
George L Lewis. a lubricating-oil sales
man Of Chicago. told how he lost con-
tract with the Dayton and Troy Traction
line because the Standard OiFs agents
promised enough freight TO more than
pay for the oil.
c.. B. Duffy, purchasing agent Of the
Hooking Valley Railroad. was called "a
testify concerning the buying OF lubrfcaf
ing oils Asked II he had not said recsnrIv
that his road would lose from, s15o 001 =,
$4,000 year IN freightage II he bourhf
lubrlcating oils from any other cornparxr
than the Standard Oil, or from the Aetna
he replied that he might have made snrb
remark. but he haa no positive recol
lection OF II He said that he had no
instructions from his superior TO buy these
oils from the Standard or Aetnn eonnse
Mes