The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-08-06
EARNINGS OF MONOPOLY.


Following up the conviction and fine
OF. the Standard Oil company, the gov
eminent makes public the report of the
commissioner of the corporations on the
oil monopoly with an amazing array OF
facts and figures which show its profits
10 have been nearly $SO0,OO0OOO in the
twenty-five years from 1882 to 1906. On
an original investment of not more
than $4,000, Geo, the actual dividends
declared and paid were $3.50. OO0, OO0 but
they did not represent anything like
the amount of net earnings. The aver
age dividend for the twenty-five years
was 24.15 per cent; and it is known
that an unusually heavy depreciation
charge, a large reserve and all the 9TH
er devices of accounting to conceal
earnings are part Of the Standard Oil
system.
That is to say, this one monopoly has
been enabled to earn a thousand per
cent on its capital in a quarter of a
century. The system by which this
was made possible is so well under
stood now that it scarcely needs re-
capitulation except to arouse public
sentiment to the necessity for restraint
of the criminal methods employed to
secure these earnings. From the com
moner crimes of bribery to secure in
formation, and arson to destroy COM
peting establishments; from intimida-
ton and coercion TO wholesale pur-
chase of courts and commemorative.
nothing in the category of unlawful
procedure has been left undone to es-
tablish and perpetuate the exploitation
of the nations oil producers and con-
sumeTs.
In the olden days the barons used to
maintain armed forces of retainers and
levy tribute from every one who came
within reach of them; they command
ed the highways, compelled the people
TO toll for them, levied bIackmaiI on
commerce. defed laws and lawmakers.
and earned a reputation for black
guardly crime that has made their
names Synonymous with all that is
vicious.
Reading the history of the Standard
Oil one discerns little difference be-
tween its methods and the system of
the barons, except in refinement of
cruelty. Both alike have left trail of
destruction in their records; both took
violent possession of the earnings of
others; both were a menace to honest
industry; both defed laws. except that
the barons' defiance was open and ac-
cOmpanied by risk, while the modern
land pirates have hired accomplished
gentlemen to devise safe methods of
evading or defying the law.
In the olden day the successful
barons thought they were immune
from punishment forever; but the slow
evolution of the race brought fate to
them and established justice. In these
modern days an agitation which has
fermented slowly at first and more
rapidly as democracy urged justice, has
finally brought the monOpOlists to book.
They may escape ultimate payment of
the enormous fine inflicted by Judge
Lands; they may still think that they
can command money enough and infu-
ence enough to escape the retribution
they have earned so fully; but the
righteous indignation of the American
people may be trusted to see that in
some form or other, in some way or
other a just judgment is melted out for
the accumulated wrongs of this quar-
ter of a century.
A stock argument in defense of
Standard Oil for years has been it's
plea that it has reduced the price of oil
and conferred a boon on the people by
its vast organization which made cheap
production possible. The same plea is
offered by every monopoly in exist
ence, but it is not in human nature to
charge a reasonable price when
monopoly is established; and the
Standard Oil has not only charged all
it could, but it has crushed every COM
petitor it possibly could reach to pre-
vent reasonable prices on its products.
The commissioners report shows that
Independent producers with high OPP
Grating costs have sold their products
profitabiy whenever and wherever the