Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-28
WORDS FOR
THE STANDARD OIL
CONTINUED from First Page.)

would probably not meet the same sort of
opposition. The crude oil Is generally trans
ported by pipe line and the refined oil by
rail.
Ordinarily the Standard has not received
rebates in recent years, SO far as has been
discovered. Only one instance was shown
in this investigation. which was found In
the provision of expensive and extensive
storage facilities at Chicago by the Lake
Shore and Michigan Southern railway for
the Standard, for which the Standard paid
nothing. The chief traffic ohacial OF that
road gave instructions that these charges
should not be collected, and they had not
been collected until shortly before the hear
ing. While the Standard has not received
rebates, 1t has nevertheless enjoyed secret
rates possessing all of the elements Of IL
legal ties, and the advantages so obtained
over independent shippers have been OF
very great value to that company. These
report made by the commissioner Of cor
porations.
Instances Of Discrimination.
Numerous instances Of discrimination In
favor of the Standard resulting from the
published railway rates were found. A low
rate of 10 cents per 100 pounds upon pc
troleum and its products existed for many
years from Neodosha, Kan, where the
Standard operated a refinery, to Kansas
City This was for the interest of Inc
out WIleI tHc SoAA
structed it's refinery az Sugar Creek. Kan
sas City, and connected 1t by pipe line win
the Kansas oil wells the rail rate was ad-
vanced from 10 to II cents per 1OO POUNDS.
While the railways insist that TINS was
not done at the instance Of the Standard,
the significant fact remains in this and
many other cases called to the commis.
sions attention that the rate was not
changed until 1t came to be for the interest
of the Standard that 1t should be changed,
and 1t was also changed exactly as that
company would naturally desire. The in
crease in the rate also rendered II just SO
much difficult for the independent
Kansas City operators to compete With the
Standard Oil Company, and increased by
just that amount it's advantage and the
price at which it could market it's oil.
Before the rate itself was advanced the
railways estimated weight for all products
of petroleum was advanced from 6.4 pounds
per gallon to "A pounds per gallon, except
fuel oil. which retained the former esti,
mated weight This change in estimated
weight caused one dealer in crude oil to lose
$500 per year in a contract to furnish such
oil to Omaha gas companies, and the con-
tract was finally turned over to the
Standard.
Formerly through rates were in effect on
refined oil from Pennsylvania and Ohio
points to territory west of Chicago but In
1880 the great refineries of the Standard
were erected at Whiting, Ind, near Chi
cago, and thereupon lines west of Chicago
declined to join in through rates with lines
from the east, and Independent refiners
were compelled to pay the full locals from
the point of shipment to Chicago plus the
full local beyond. This increased the
through rates to its competitors and ag-
gravated the advantage which the Stand
ard possessed by reason of its ability to
pump its oil to Whiting at a. small cost
and refine it at that point Almost every
commodity takes a blanket rate to the
Pacific coast from all points east of the
Mississippi and north. of the Ohio, but to
this rule petroleum is a notable exception.
The rate for instance, from Cleveland to
San Francisco, is the full local to Chicago
added to the rate from Chicago to the
coast
The commission long ago pointed out that
the railway schedules of this country were
filled with Determinations Of this charac-
ter in favor of the Standard Oil Company,
which could not, as the law then stood, be
corrected. The commission refers to its
report or decision in the New York, New
Haven and Hartford railroad case, which
involved refusal of that road to join in
through rates upon petroleum, as 1t did
upon other commodities, and wherein it
was shown that the Standard thereby OBJ
tained a monopoly of the territory covered
by that railroad system and directly put
into its treasury between 500, 600 and $500. :
900 per year. The commissioner of corpor-
atoms has collected in his report many
instances of a similar character.
Ruin of It's Competitors.
The ruin of its competitors has been
distinct part of the policy of the Standard
OIL Company in the past. systematically and
persistently pursued. One method has been
the organization of perfect system of
espionage over the shipments of its COM
petitors, resulting in knowledge as to the
destination of every car of oil leaving the
refinery Of an independent The Standard
agent at the destination is held responsible
If the independent oil is sold 1t does NOT
appear that the railroad companies have
directed the furnishing of-ths information
or that the practice has been sanctioned by
superior officials of the roads, but it does
appear that such information is SYSTEMATIC
ally obtained from railroad employees The
testimony shows that the Standard at one
time If 1t does not now, devoted a fund to
the purpose of obtaining this information.
1t has frequently happened, when the sup
ply of independent oil In a particular terri
tory was low, and shipment was pecu-
marry necessary, that the shipment has I'M
accountaoiy gone astray. Information also
appears to have been given the Union Tank
Line, creature of the Standard concern
ing the whereabouts of it's cars while such
information was not furnished to other
owners or tank cars, and some discrimina-
ton in tank-car mileage In favor of the
tank line Is shown for one railroad Many
roads issued passes on account of the Union
rank Line which were, in fact, used by
sell1ng agents OF the Standard Many local
agents of roads have been In the employ of
the Standard and this may account for the
unsatisfactory service accorded to indie
pendent shippers.
Most roads charge higher rates on oil in
tank cars destined to consignees who do
not have proper facilities for unloading,
such as storage tanks SO situated that the
oil can be transferred by pipe from the
tank car to the storage tank. This has
brought about the erection of Distribution
tanks in all parts OF the country The
cost of erecting such a tank is not yerv
great, and the rule would ordinarily i'm,
pose no hardship; but 1T is the practice Of
the Standard, whenever a competitor 40
erects tank, to reduce the price of oil in
that locality to such a point as to make
the business Improbable to the Competitor
while prices were maintained in other To-
calities. Whoever would compete against
the Standard must erect these tanks-not at
one, but at many points, and this REQUIRES
large investment. The tanks are neces-
sarily located near the railroad tracks and
there was much complaint that the rail-
roads allowed the Standard to erect itA
tanks at convenient points on the railroad
right of way and declined to accord this
privilege to Independent refiners. The
commission Is satisfied that such discrimi-
nation has been very generally practiced in
the past
The report shows that at present eyery
considerable railroad In the United States
| is buying of the Galena Oil Company one
of the Standard companies, most of its