Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-05-08
CARFIELD'S REPORT
COMMISSIONER AssAlLs STAND.
ARD OIL COMPANY AND GER
TAIN RAILROADS

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Report Submitted to Congress With
Message From President Roosevelt
Says Standard Preys on Public
and crushes Competitions,
Following Is given ii full the report
OF Commissioner James r. Garfield re-
garding the oil industry, which was
submitted to congress yesterday, with
the message from President Roose
welt:
Washington, May 3, 1906.
Department of Commerce and Labor,
Bureau of Corporations,
Sir: have the honor to submit the
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
February Is, 1905, directed particular
attention to the condition of the Kan
sas oil field. The study Of the oil in
dustry which had heretofore been
made by the Bureau showed that a
special report upon the conditions in
the Kansas field would not be advis-
able. A report, on any special field
would Of necessity be unfair to both
the producers and the refners, for the
reason that the purely local conditions
do not by any means determine the
price Of either crude oil or its pro-
ducts or afford a proper basis for I'M
derstanding the conditions of the in
a nd
! extensive investigation has been con-
Quoted, covering the following SUBJ
jects:
/. The crude oil production in the
United States and it's relation to the
worlds supply; the prices and meth
DDS Of purchase.
2. The use, development, and con-
troll Of pipe lines.
8. Refining of oil; the control Of rel
fneries; the cost of refining and mar
keting; the prices Of petroleum pro-
ducts.
The organization, ownership and
relation Of the companies engaged in
the production, manufacture and dis
tribution of oil.
5. The competitive methods used
I'll the production and sale Of oil.
g.. Transportation and freight rates.
Z. Foreign trade and conditions
and their relation to the domestic in
dustry
How Facts Were Obtained.
! 1 have personally visited nearly all
Of the great fields and have been III
communication, either personally or
through the agents of the bureau, with
many hundred producers and practic-
{ ally all the refiners, and transportation
& agencies engaged in the distribution
OF oil. A special agent of the bureau
h was sent to Europe to study at first
hand the conditions in foreign produce
Ing fields and distributing markets.
Il The facts obtained have in every feas-
4 lble way been verified by examination
Df the original sources Of information.
BY far the greater part of the ma
I terial necessary for the completion of
Z the entire report has been collected.
The preliminary study Of this material
showed that the most important sub
ject was transportation, because the
cost Of transportation is very large
percentage of the total cost to the con-
sumner OF the finished product, and
hence most important factor in com
petition.
The control of the Standard Oil COM
apany over the entire oil industry is so
great as to require a special study of
its relations to transportation com
parlies.
therefore first submit the accom-
panyirlg report upon the subject Of
raflb.ay transportation and freight
rates. AS it necessarily covers many
details, | beg to invite your attention
70 the following summary of its more
prominent features.
Extent Of Monopoly.
The manufacture of refined oil, COM
monty known as Kerosene, is about
26,000,000 barrels annually,of which the
standard OIL company directly and in
directly controls about 23,O00,0OO 1t
] also controls approximately the same
proportion of the other finished pro-
ducts Of petroleum.
The rehneries owned or controlled
Sby thee Standard Oil company are To-
Gated hear New York, Philadelphia.
HAltirn1lore, Chicago, Kansas City. in
4 WESTERN New York and Pennsylvania
IN West Virginia, Ohio, Kansas. Colo
$rade, iCalifornia and Texas. It's larg-
Fest rffneries are located at the great
centars of distribution, which are CON
nected by pipe lines with the crude-
oil fields. The refined products are
carried by rail and water. The indie
pendent refneries that is, those not
owned or controlled by the Standard
OIL company located, with a very
few Exceptions, at or near the crude-
oil fi&1ds. This difference of location.
as will be seen later, is of Importance