The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1907-05-14
A Simple Trust Story.

The New York Press, a Republican
newspaper, tells A Simple Trust
Story" in this way:
1.-The interstate commerce commits
sion has been hearing a case in,the last
few days which is avery simple story.
A firm of sellers of oil in Brooklyn
were doing prosperous business. They
bought their supply from the Standard
Oil company When the business grew
big enough to be worth while to Rookie
teller greed the trust was not content
to make its profits on the Oil sold to
the firm at wholesale; it wanted both
its previous profit of wholesale and the
little firms profit of retail. 1t deter
mined that the firm must get out of
business. 1t was bound to swallow the
whole thing. Note the method, simple
as the story:
"a competitor came into the field.
The compliments declare that the COM
peting outfit was set up by the trust to
kill off the firm which was earning the
profits coveted by the Rockefellers.
At any rate, the Standard Oil began to
raise its wholesale price on the firm
sentenced to be exterminated. This
forced the victims to raise the retail
price or lose money. But the newly ar
rived competitor did not raise prices,
for the reason, the compliments
charge, that the wholesale price as not
increased on the enterprise which was
to drive out the old concern. Obvious
~ the condemned firm must get cheaper
oil or go out of business, as the con-
sumers would not pay more to it than
to the other for their OIL.
''To get cheaper oil the firm which
had been marked for slaughter by the
Rockefellers went West to an indepen-
dent producers and made arrangements
to ship oil in tank cars. The price was
so favorable, the service so satisfac-
tory, the other benefits so striking, that
the firm was able to do more business
than before. 1t built up large trade.
1t was shipping many tank cars. 1t not
only was holding its former trade,
gained when dealing with the trust, but
it was taking trade away from the
Standard Oil and its agencies. This
/ was considerably more than the trust
had bargained for. 1t had arranged to
ruin retailer by putting up the price
of his supply on him here he could not
live in competition, but by driving
him to an Independent source of supply
it had shown him how to make more
money and how to diminish the bust
ness and profits of the trust. This was
also to be stopped.
This firm, now Independent and pros
porous, found that it could not get the
railroads to haul and deliver its tank
cars containing the Independent OIL
The railway agents said the business
was too dangerous. The dripping oil
might catch fire in the terminals and
burn up railroad sheds, trains of
freight, whole terminals. There was
no telling what damage might not hap
pen to property and lives from hauling
these tank cars to oil supplied by indie
pendent producers and to be sold by an
independent firm in competition with
the Rockefellers. The railroads could
haul cars of the Standard OIL trust
they could take care of the shipments
to dealers in the trusts OIL No great
danger here. But not so with the in
dependent producers and handlers.
Their oil must not be handled.
what the independent firm wants
the interstate commerce commission to
determine is whether the Standard Oil
trust has the right to arrange that
common carriers shall transport only
Standard Oil products What the firm
wants TO be Informed about is whether
the United States Government sane
lions conditions whereby when the
Standard Oil can't club a dealer to
death directly with its own weapon of
pipe lines, prices and delivery. it can
call on railroad to club him to death
by refusing to handle his cars.
A very simple story of very simple
methods to kill competition and ruin
men. A simple story of what is enact
ed every day in the year everywhere
In this country How long are the
people OF the UNITED States going to
! stand it?"