The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-14

myself l have had much trouble in
 getting my tanks trans-shipped at St.
 Louis This generally happens when
 I am low on oil Once I had tank car of oil drift off from East St. Louis
 to Alabama. At the time was cut of
 oil and lost customers. as the Stand ard Company. my competitors Tn Springfield, had plenty of oil and got
 the customers I had lost.
 MT. Willhoyt said that while agent
 for the Standard at Topeka he was instructed to watch all shipments or
 oil to that point and to ascertain the
 name of the shipper and the point Of destination.
 How would you get information from railroads as to your competitors shipmentsg" was asked Mfr. Willhoyt q never went to railroad officials"
 said the witness. T always got my information from employees of the rail-
 roads. I was allowed $S month to
 spend with railroad employees In buy ing drinks and making myself good fellow and l was permitted to give
 away oil and gasoline to railroad em- ployes and report such gifts as "dona- tions." The $S a month was sent me | in A personal check by E. E. Pratt,
 manager for the Standard in Kansas | City, and later by J. w. Mayer, who succeeded him as manager. My in- ! structions how to spend the check new | CT came by letter. They were al-
 ways given in person. I was also in | structed to promise railroad employees good positions with the Standard oil | Company. I was instructed to tell | them that man could get q salary with the Standard greater than the | President of the United States receives. | This system of bribery was inaugur- ated by the Standard OH Company and | has been in vogue for years"
 wil1hoyt said that by keeping track | of the shipments made by their com
 petitors, the Standard was enabled to | know the names of every dealer who \ was buying oil from independents Had the Advantage.
 | Tt enabled me-" he said. ito go to each of my competitors and either tie | him up to us with contracts or cut | the price so that he lost money on the l oil he receives from independent re- l flners.'
 l Standard, Willhoyt said he had been q travelling agent for that company | with headuuarters at Wichita. He said | that while at Wichita an independent refiner of Pueblo of the Rocky Noun l tain oil Company shipped a car load of oil to a wholesale grocery man in | Arkansas City. Kansas.
 T was notified of the number of
 the car" said the witness, and was told to go there and tie up that gro-
 cer with a contract to buy all hfs OH from us or to maintain our price in
 his territory. This dealer refused to
 contract, although I offered him oil for A dollar a barrel or two cents a gallon less than we were selling 1t in | the open market. l reported that to my superior officer and he ordered me | to go back and tis up that dealer in a contract no matter how much cut in
 price had to make. Before returned the Rocky Mountain oil Company had | failed in business"
 I. N. Knapp. an oil produced and shinper of Chanute, Kansas, was the next witness. In October, 1899. he
 went to Kansas and became a producer and shipper. He began supplying oil
 to Omaha, shipping the first year in
 tank cars and then he bought twenty ! tank cars and supplied Omaha and Kansas City with crude oil. He testi- fed that when the railroad raised the
 rate on oil from ten to seventeen cents | from Chanute to Kansas City, 1t put him out of the shipping business.