The Cairo bulletin., 1907-08-05

II AFhAi&l AH&AI AAkest ts~EStE HlALal
I, revelations Waeo inada public tcda.
H III \ report submitted to Presidea
1 Roosevelt b} Herbert Knox Smith
II eemmissienet of corporations, con
/ corning the operations Of the stani
j aff on Company
4 ~ previous report tho means and
4 methods d the standard We're explain
\ e,f The present report sets forth the
I results of these methods and the ef-
/ lat they hava had On the consumer
] aad on the profits q} the company. 1t
i deals with profits ana prices. show
1 ine just hoN the manipulation oL the
| eil industry by tho Standard has all
| taeted tho pocketbooks 81 the Amer
\ lean people. Commissioner Smith
saSs
/ The Standard has repeatedly claim
I. ca that 1t has reduced the price
I III cii; that it has been a benefit tn
l tho consumer, and that cniy d great
| combination like the Standard could
i have furnished oil at the prices that
| have prevailed
I Esaeh one Of these claims Ii lis-
1 proved by this report
the STANDARD has consistently use
4 Ifs newaf To raise THE price III cir
during the last ten years. not only
] absolutely bat also relatively to the
] ccst Of crude oil.
1 The statistical basis for this con
j clusion IL very broad, founded upon |
I !, tgaet ,,,,r,tts. ,sF ,,Yfnnu 5fpaofI,, nnI |
/ lected III tha Bureau from thou |
| sands Of retail dealers throughout the
!. country as well as from various 9th,
lei sources. arranged and averaged
fwith tho utmost care, verified where
lever necessary and in tlia final re-
lsnlts apportioned or "weghtedn ac
cofdng to the amount of business /,
5cr quantity of the article involved. /
Very careful computations OF the
lcost Of refining, transporting, and {,
marketing have been made, by-pro.
ducts have been included with care /
Lhlly "weighted prices, and as viii /
Hppear by the body Of the report It :
lEel, these conclusions while briefly =
STATED in this letter Of submittal are !
ttho inal results from most elaborate =
end indisputable calculations. +
( The results are given chiefly in the !,
Ishape Of margins; that is, the dii 4
iference i'm cents per gallon between
hhe cost CT crude oil which the Stand n
lard buys aad the prices of the pro. II
ducts thereof whica it sells. These !,
s'margins' OF iourse are the really
facts. representing that n
hart of the price for which the Sand !,
lard is responsible. n
Prices Of oil products may rise or ~
fall slightly without affecting the pro- Ic,
Iats of the Standard because of a a,
Ichange in the l,ice of the crude oil, i,
lthohgh the Standard also fixes with
T. certain limits even the price of su
crude. But the margin" the differ a,
lsnec between the price Of crude and IN
he price Of the finished products. Is IA
aiways a trde indication of price pol llo
.cy end profits. w,
Importance Of Small Margins. or
There are tive varieties Of raw ma AZ
rial of essential importance-Penn- "a
lvlvania crude Gil and Lima crude oil. A.
fhe crude Gil Of the other fields -,
10th by reason CT their very recent 10
Development and by reason Of -
,arked difference in quality, do not af
Inect in any significant way the ~
1rices herein considered. 4e
The average margin between Penn ,rf
|rivania crude oil and the iluminl- an,
ing OF sold by the Standard through. ~
nj the country, after deductingii,,
relght costs. from September. 1907
D the end OF 1899. was 5.3 cents pc. e..
allon; frcm 1900 to 1902 inclusive. & en-,
ents per gallcn: and from 1903 t5 n
une. 1895. 6.6 cents. or an increase tbs
f 1.3 cents during these eight years. Inc
Tben it is remembered that from OF or
snt to l cent per gallon constitutes a ma
ood profit on the business. the mean r,1,
lg Of an increase Of 1.3 in the last ,e,
feht years covered By this report is .ar
rident even as applied to Hlumina- -7e
ng on alone. we.
The tremendous importance Of the ,tr
.rrease ID margins can be fully an ha-
iatssf oaly ty consideration Of the "a,
ssImCus outrgt Of the STANDARD. =
Ike average increase fu the margin ne
.r the products OF both Pennsylvania
al Lima crude oil combInedf taking