Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-26
STANDARD OIL RIVALS
METHOD By WHICH THEY WERE
DRIVEN OUT OF BUSINESS.

A total OF nineteen witnesses were called
by Interstate Commerce Commissioners
Prouty and Clements in the Standard Oil
| inquiry at Cleveland yesterday. Commits
sioners, counsel and everybody else con-
nected with the investigation put in a hard
day and the work OF the two sessions was
prolific of substantial results. Testimony
bordering on the sensational was obtained
from several witnesses. That of George l..
Lane of Mansfield. Ohio. former employe
Of the Standard OIL Company, was regard
ed as particularly important. According to
his evidence. Lane was about fourteen
months in 1901 and 1902, employed by the
Standard Oil Company for the particular
purpose of driving all of the independent
oil peddlers in a dozen or more Of the prin-
cipal cities and towns of northern Ohio out
of business He said he was employed by
c. M. Lyons of the Cleveland office of the
Standard Oil Company, 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 l was told that II l could not
do the job. somebody else would be sent
to take my place. / worked in Youngstown
and surrounding small towns Canton.
Gfrard, Warren, Ravenna, Massillon, Mans
field. Elyria. Oberlin and other places. In
all of the towns. with the exception of
Youngstown, the independent peddlers were
forced to abandon their business In
Youngstown a man named William H. Va
hey was encountered, and despite every
thing we could do, he held his trade. We
gave oil away by the barrel and tank load,
but 1t did no good. Vahey's customers
threw 1t away
A Private Telegraph System.
John O'Brien, general superintendent of
the Lima division of the Buckeye Pipe Line
Company, a Standard Oil Company con-
Germ, was asked particularly about the
Standards telegraph system. especially that
part connected with the pipe line company.
The inquiries succeeded in establishing the
general fact that the Standard has an i'm
mense telegraph system of its own, extend
Ing to nearly every part of the country. and
that in carrying on its great volume OF
trade 1t does not often require the use of
the regular lines of the two big telegraph
companies. The company has it's own wires
Ceased or otherwise), operators, offices, reg
ulatons, blanks and other stationery, and
sometimes sends messages for persons not
connected with the company. The witness
denied that the company exchanged bust
ness 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 Qimited)
of Oil City, Pa, offered testimony concern
ing railroad rate discrimination against his
company, and that IN order to hurt their
business in Indiana the Standard agents cir
culated reports to the effect that the Oil
City company was in reality Standard Oil
concern.
Driven From Territory.
He testified as to increases in freight rates
On various roads during the last twelve or
fifteen years. In Indian Territory he said,
the Standards agents, rs one method of
getting business away from them. contin-
ually circulated reports that the independ-
ent oil refining company was in reality con-
troled by the Standard Oil Company. This,
he said was done Systematically for a long
period.
The railroads, he declared, had begun in
creasng the rates to New England in the
early sos, and had been gradually cutting
out the through rate to nearly all points
and substituting an arbitrary rate which
was almost prOhibitive. These excessive
and unjust rates. which were levied princi-
pally by the Lake Shore and Pennsylvania
roads, had practically driven ris company
out of the entire New England field
In trying to reach southern territory as
far as New Orleans. similar situation was
met. All kinds of other difficulties, the
witness said, were being continually thrown
in their way by the railroads. particularly
the Pennsylvania Company, which, as an
Illustration, compelled his company TO build
tank cars on specifications much more strin-
gent than those required for their own cars
Ruined by Standard Methods.
Frank j. Heimerich of Bellevue, Ohio, told
how his independent oil business was all
but ruined by the methods of the Standard.
W. f. Wall, president of the Fred T.
Clark Company, oil dealers, of Cleveland.
pointed out on rate sheets the irregulari-
ties in rates to different points in the
country.
E. NJ. Gibbs, merchant of Kipton, Ohio.
said he was compelled to handle the Stand
ards oil because the Standards agents
threatened to start another store close by
and sell every article he sold in competi-
ton.
George L. Lewis, lubricating-ol sales
man of Chicago, told how he lost con-
tract with the Dayton and Troy Traction
Line because the Standard agents promised
enough freight to more than pay the oil.