The Cairo bulletin., 1907-08-05
STANDARD OILS CLAIM.
concluded from First Page.)

has become of the increase in prices
and margins on petroleum products
during the regime OF the Standard
since 1898.
False Claims of Lower Prices.
! Very valuable additional informa.
| tion Is also shown In the report by
| the figures going still further back
and taking up the course OF prices
since the beginning Of the industry
Available prices fer the period peced-
ling 1897 arc much less complete than
FOR the later period, and conclusions
/ here must be based largely ON the
| increase Of profits on its whole bust
course OF expert prices, which as
matter Of fact, have never represent
ed exactly the course OF prices in this
! country, but which probably cores
lpcnded to domestic prices much more
closely in the earlier periods than in
! the later ones. Making due ALLOW
ance for these considerations, how
ever, these longer series Of prices are
j the earlier competitive period and the
| later noncompetitiyo or mcnopolistic
period, ana allow n comparison be
tween the two. They demonstrate
the falsity of the historic claim of the
Standard Oil Company that by rea-
son OF it's extraordinary efficiency Il
has brought prices to a point lower
than would have been reached had
business remained under normal com.
petitive conditions and in the hands
Of number Of comparatively small
or concerns.
The industry may be said to have
been normally competitive from 1866
to 1874, and during that time there
was a fall in margin between the
lprice Of export oil in barrels ana
the price of Pennsylvania crude OF
from 23.75 cents in 1866 to 9.02 cents
in 1874. This decline was much
greater than that which has taken
place since 1t Is conclusive evidence
been made in the absence of any gen.
eral combination. Moreover, q part
OF the reduction which took place
from 1874 to 1879 under the Stand
ard regime was due to decrease in
transportation costs and in railway
lrates, the rate on Illuminating oil
from Pennsylvania fields to New
York in 1874 being cents per gallon
while during part Of the year 1879
lit was not over / cent per gallon
line during this later period reduced
the cost of transportation still furth-
er and it must be remembered that
the Standard was not the originator
Iof the idea of seaboard pipe line
but that the Tide Water Pipe Com.
Ipany, then wholly independent, first
built such line.
Furthermore, the reductions in
margins since 1879 have been much
less than the Standard has often
claimed and such as have occurrel
have been more than Offset by the in
creased value of by-products. In gen
eral, even the export prices. which
probably show the situation most ia
vorably for the Standard, show
Imargin during recent years not very
much lower than twenty-five years
ago. In 1879 that margin was COS
cents; in 1903 the margin was 4.91
cents; and, as indicated above, in the
last few years domestic prices have
| ,ipnp +bo mt
prices.
IN short, it may be said that the
great decrease in prices which took
place in the period from 1866 to 1874
was due to competitive conditions,
while the much smaller decrease that
took place from 1874 to the present
under the domination of the Standard
has been due to conditions over which
the Standard had no control has been
more than Offset by increase in the
value of by-produets, and can not be
placed in any way to the credit of the
Standard Oil Company.
The fact that the Standard does
NEARLY nine-tenths of the petroleum
business has been demonstrated in
lprevious part of this report 1t now
appears concusively that the result
Of this domination has been to in.
crease the prices of oil paid by the
consumer, and correspondingly to in
crease the profits received by the
Standard. 1t is not true to say that
only such a great combination can
furnish oil at the prices which have
been charged Independent competi-
tors, though small and weak, do sur
viye and do business at prices which
are deliberately reduced by the Stand
lard within the small competitive
areas reached by these independents.
and which are much lower than the
average prices received by the Stand
ard throughout the country.
| If the few and small independent
concerns that now exist. harassed
and restricted as they are by the ag-
grpsSiye uricp cutting of tho Ctana