The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-08-12
REPORT COMMISSION
ON OIL INDUSTRY
IN SELLING PETROLEUM IN FOR
EIGN COUNTRIES AMERICAN
CONSUMER SACRIFICED.

WASHINGTON, Aug. lin the
business of selling petroleum pro-
ducts in foreign countries the policy
of the Standard Oil company has
been to sacrifice the interests of the
American consumer for the protec-
tion of the Standards business
abroad.
This direct charge is made in an
official report to President Roosevelt
by Herbert Knox Smith, commission
er of corporations in submitting to
him further results of the investiga-
ton of the operation of the Standard
Oil company by the bureau of corpo-
rations. Part three of the report,
dealing with determinations in
prices, was made public today by
Commissioner Smith. 1t consists of
detailed summary of the work of
the investigators and a letter of
transmittance of the report to the
president.
Commissioner Smith asserts that
the Standard, enjoying practically an
absolute monopoly of the oil trade in
this country, has charged such
prices as it could thereby extort, and
the American consumer has had to
pay these prices. Meeting competi-
tion abroad, it has given the foreign
consumer enormously lower prices,
and it has used the profits made at
home to maintain the position
abroad; so that the American con-
sumer has been severely discrimi-
mated against for the purpose of
maintaining, not the dominance of
American export trade, but the domi-
nance of particular combination,
which has used it's power frequently
and conspicuously to the disadvant-
age of the American public
1t has been shown in the previous
part of this report that the margins
between the price of crude oil and
the prices of its finished products in
the United States have increased
greatly during recent years. 1t has
been shown also that the aggregate
profits of the Standard have increas-
ed enormously during the past few
year, reaching their maximum in
1903. There is little doubt that
much the larger part of the increase
in the Standards profits during this
recent period has been in it's domes-
tic trade. This can be shown by a
Vi tllC movement Vi Wv
nestle with the movement of foreign
prices.
A very large proportion of the pc
troleum products manufactured in
the United States is exported. This
is especially true of illuminating oil,
the most important product, of
which from SIS to 60 per cent is sent
abroad. The prices in the United
States, particularly during recent
years, have been very much higher
than the foreign prices, and the con-
clusion is irresistible that the Stand
ard Oil company has made the
American people pay for the mainte-
nance of its dominant position in the
foreign trade.
Chief interest attaches to the COM
parison of domestic and foreign
prices of Illuminating oil, although
discrimination against the domestic
consumer appears also in other class
es of petroleum products, particular
ly lubricating oil, which is also an
important export. The comparison
of domestic and foreign prices may
be made in either of two ways:
Cd The relative movement oi
prices in the domestic and foreign
markets may be compared for Sc
ries of years withoutreference to the
absolute level of prices at a giver
time as determined by the subtrac
tion of transport and other market
| ing costs. A conspicuous and pro
| longed change in the relative move
ments of prices, unfavorable to thu
II.