The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-05-05
OIL TRUST FLAYED
BY COMMISSIONER
Secret Rates and Unjust and IL
legal Determinations Ex-
posed in Report.

The report Of Commissioner Garfield
which accompanied the message OF Presi
dent Roosevelt, Is as follows: gt
Department OF Commerce and Labor,
Bureau of Corporations,
Washington. May q. 1905.
Sir,-1 have the honor to submit the I
part OF the report on the oil industry
which has to do with the subject OF
transportation and freight rates.
House resolution No. 400, passed Feb
ruary Is, 1905, directed particular atten-
ton to the condition OF the Kansas oil
field. The study Of the oil industry
which had heretofore been made by
the Bureau showed that q special re-
port upon the conditions In the Kansas
held would not be advisable.
Thorough Investigation.
a report on any special field would OF
necessity be unfair to both the produce
ers and the. refners. for the reason
that the purely local conditions do not
either crude oil or its products Or at
ford q proper basis for understanding
the conditions of the industry. there
fore, general and very extensive IN
veStigation has boon conducted, cover
ing the following subjects: VIM
!. The crude oil production IN the
. United States and its relation to the
worlds supply; the prices and methods
2fThe use, development and control
Of pipe lines.
~ g. Refining of oil; the control of re-
tineries; the cost Of refining and mar
keung; the prices OF petroleum p<o-s
ducts. 1t5a alst3 :,
a. The organization, ownership. ana
relation Of the companies engaged In
the 2roduetio'n1, manufha9feItlunre' pnd ds-
S. The competitive methods used in
the production and sale of Oils
6. Transportation and freight rates
T. Foreign trade and conditions ana
u aI,.r la i'm, M ! IA
have personally visited nearly all OF
the great fields and 4ave been In conf
muneatop, either personally ,Sa E,re or
with many hundred producers and
practically all the reflners and trans
portation agencies engaged In the DIS
tribution Of oil. a special agent of the
at fi n hand the conditions in foreign
producing fields and distributing mar
kets. The facts obtained have In every
feasible way been verified by examlna-
ton Of the original sources or inforlna-
ton. n
BY far the greater part Of the ma.
terinl necessary for the. completion OF
the entire report has been collected.
The preliminary study OF this material
ject was transportation, because the
cost of transportation Is very large
percentage of the total cost to the con-
sumner OF the finished product. ana
petition.
Standard Oil.
The control OF the Standard Oil Conl-
pany over the entire oil Industry Is so
great as to require special study or
its relations to transportation compa-
MES.
therefore arst submit the accom-
panying S'eport upon the subject Of .
railway transportation and freight
rates: AS it necessarily covers many
details, ] beg TO invite your attention
to the following summary OF It's more
prominent features. va
The manufacture of refined oil. com
monty known us kerosene, is about 26,-
directly controls about $4,000, 900. 1t also
controls approximately the Same pro
portion of the other finished products
of petroleum.
The rciinories owned or controlled by
the Standard on Company are located
near New York Philadelphia. mlti-
more. Chicago, Kansas city, IN vest
West Virginia, Ohio, Kansas. Colorado,
California and Texas. Its largest re-
tlnerics are located ut tho great centres
of distribution, which gre connected by
refined products are carried by rail- ana
water. The independent reinerles---
chat Is, those not owned or controlled
by IN Standard Oil Company-are To-
near the crude-oil fields, THIS diner
cnce OF location as will be seen later
Is or importance.
The Standard claims that the loca-
t!on OF It's retineries and the us6 Of
pipe lines are natural advantages to
which II Is justly entitled by reason or
the energy and foresight of Its mana
gers. While In u measure that Is true,
It must not be forgotten that these adj
van'ages We're in part obtained by
means of unfair compctitivn methods
after ycnrs Of fierce industrial strife.
Rate Discrimination,
The Development OF the pipeline sys-
TEN bS the Standard Oh Company was
] the result OF special agreements with