The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1907-05-24
The Mitchell Capital


The Standard Ull tas u getting IL
ran al! sides, aad tue latest Is frunl
The pen OF iietsefl Knox saith,
com Iii issioner OF the bureau OF Ia
cssrporationS Mr.. Smith carries his
middle name With good reason. for
be has secured some facts that
knocks when placed against the
Standards methods of doing bust
ness, Mr.. Smith has just presented
q portion OF his report to the presi-
dent, and in commenting on the
wholesomeness of the same, the
Omaha Bee has the folio wing to say
Commissioners Herbert Knox Smith
OF the bureau OF corporations of the
Department of Commerce and Labor,
has furnished q most illuminating
report to the president on the rela-
tion OF the Standard OIL company to
the petroleum Industry of the nation.
This report is A summary OF The
findings made by a corps OF special
agents Of the government who spent
more than a year investigating the
oil interests OF the country, IN all
branches. While much Of the evil
0ShSS SOSdAOd las OCCd M4O1tliG1ds VII
account OF pending litigation, enough
is published to more than justify the
exaggerated suspicious the public has
held concerning STANDARD Oil
methods in perfectiong and pe1petu- !
ating its hold on the oil business of |
the country.
Contrary to the general impress
sion. the Standard does not produce
the bulk OF the OIL Less than one
sixth of The 1875. 600, 600 barrels OF
crude oil produced in 1865 came
from wells owned or operated by
the trust. The Standards ascendancy
is not based on production, but on
the absolute ownership OF practically
all the 1efneries of the country and
its complete domination by owner
ship Or control OF all pipe lines,
through which So per cent of the
crude oil produced is transported.
This pipe line control is as effective
Tor its purposes as direct ownership
of the wells would be-and less ex-
pensive. Having thus secured the
monopoly of refining, the Standard
its grasp by doing its own
marketing. The tank wagon system
enables the trust to deal direct with
the consumer, eliminating the jobber
AND placing the Standard in position
70 adjust Its prices TO suit conditions
In different localities and to wipe
out effectually attempted coMpeli-
tion.
"Only by unfair practices has the
Standa d been able,', reads the re-
port, ito MAINTAIN its monopoly
while charging price averaging much
above the competitive level. These s
unfair practlces may be broadly {,
grouped under three heads-railroad
determinations. abuse of control of
pipe lines and unfair methods Of SELL {
ing products" The federal authori-
Ties are already making great progress {
IN their efforts to put an end to the :
railroad Determinations, and a
determined fight is to be made to !
break up the other combinations, \
Injurious to the public, which have
been used by the Standard to secure !
its monopoly. 6
The officials of the Standard were j
lmOng the first to raise the cry that
The s'small investors, the widows and
we're being ,wronged and
by the governments. at
tempt to bring the trust to terms. t
Commissioner Smiths report shows !
that the widows and orphans who
,wn SAC, 100000 worth Of the SIS. 0O0,-
700 capital stock OF the trust are I
John D. Rockefeller, Henry M. /
Fldglaf, Charles Pratt, o. II. Payne, /,
William Rockefellov, j. A. Bost-
Rick, ". q. Warden, John d.
Archbold and BENJAMIN Brewster. l
II the p1aaent time these poor
and orpi,aps are drawing +
'nly Ss5. 00O, coo a year in dividends. :