The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-07

attributable to increase in costs of conducting the business Although, since the time when the Standard oil Company first secured 6 large propor- tion of the business ,aoout 1874. there has been a material uecrease in the margin between the price of crude oil and the price of illuminating oil. the Standard Oil Company can claim no credit for this decrease.
 "2. The profits of the Standard oil Company, particularly on it's domestic business, are altogether excessive. and they have been higher during recent years than formerly.
 Standard Fixes Prices.
 "Tha influence of the standard oil Company on prices must be judged not by the absolute prices of the finished products of petroleum, put by com parison of such prices with the price of crude oil. The Standard buys much the greater part of its crude, and there fore the margin between crude and its finished products affords the proper cri- terion of it's policy.
 "In considering such margins the Standards price policy may convent ently be considered as though 1t af- fected principally or only the consumer of the finished products. It is true that the Standard Is substantially able | to fix the price of crude oil in most of the great oil fields. The unduly great margin between the price of crude and the price of finished pro- ducts might therefore be attributed either to tn establishment of unduly low prices for crude, or to the estab- | lishment of unduly high prices for nn- ished products, or to both combined .. There is little doubt. however, that in general the excessive margins extort- ed by the Standard have been chiefly an exploitation of the consumer. Comparison of Figures.
 '"The movement of the prices of H. Iuminating oil, gasoline, lubricating oil, and paraffin wax, respectively are compared with the movement of the prices of Pennsylvania crude oil. A combined average price for the four products is presented, together Sith the margin above the crude price. rms combined average price Is made up by weighting the prices of the several products according to the respective proportions of the different products derived, on the Lv- craze from Pennsylvania erode. Margin Keeps Growing. "The margin between the price of Pennsylvania crude oil and the price 1 of each of its four principal products
  | 1903 and 1904. The average margin ] between crude and Illuminating oil was 5.3 cents in 1898 and 7.1 cents in | 1903, at increase of 1.S cent&. The | gasoline margin increased from D. Z | cents in 1898 to s.2 cents in 1903. The | Iubricating oil margin increased be- | tween the same years from 1O.7 to lS. z cents. and for paraffin wax from 6 3 to 31.9 cents. The margin in each | case, except paraffin wax, was highest in 1903.
 "The weighed average margin for | the four classes of products combined was 6.5 cents in 1898 and S.S cents In l 1903. an increase of 2.3 cents. The weighted combined margin was lowest in the second half of 1898. 6S.S cents | and highest in the first half of 15oS' s.9 cents.
 Coal Famine ca Blessing" 'sThe year 1903 marks the culmna- | tion of the profits of the Standard OH | Company on it's domestic business, ana on its total domestic and foreign busi- ness as we'll ,ooo "The anthracite coal strike Of lsoZ 1 caused a shortage of fuel, which Ted 10 an increased consumption or lllunlihi ,L' = = l ing oil for fuel purposes during the
 winter of 19O2-,O3 The price of Hum mating oil rose greatly at this time and drew the prices of other products
 with it. and to a less extent that of
 @Tba occasion for these high prices
 soon ceased. but though there vas l some decline during the summer or | 1aO3 there was another marked ad- 1,o,oe toward the close of the year,
 narticularly in Illuminating oil the
 rnost important product. The Stand . | ard appears to have taken adVantage | of the nrecedent established the preceu- ing winter to excuse an extraordinary nigh level of prices.
 Few Cents Yield Millions.
 "Tbe marked advance in the margin
 orica of its products in the domestic
 p,,arlet has greatly increased the prof
 its of the Standard oil Company on JUS
 domestic business | The report here deals with staustlcs l ooverinsy the cost to produce. transport
 ood market oil. and shows au average
 increase in the margin Of D cents
 lnIie n,i 4ron, 1898 to 1904. From this
 ttl jncraase in profits to the corpora l tion due to increased margin. are dg-
 d sho,vIng additional profits due to
 ttts oouso of S25. 900 in 1903 ever the returns for l6sS' ,,n..
 oil Men Admit kAsh Profits. l cortinuing She report says;
 "That these estimates of the lncreas SC
 of the profits of the Stanaara OiI So'n
 nt oa or its business in the United
 par, paatas do not everstate the
 facts facts is indicated by the admis sions
 of the representatives of the StaAa-
 o.d Itself concerning its profits.
 sorbe nrofits in the year 1896 on the
 o,+ire husiness of the company, both
 snos+tc eneIte and foreign. were $34. .077,51s.-
 I0 1o'"eTt,e The dividends in 1926 were 3l per
 do ,+ in 1897. 83 per cent; in 1898 SC
 cen, cen csnt r't The probability is as indi-
 pea pe bv these dividends and statistics
 oF nTices. that the profits were roughly
 inc same in 1897 and 1898 as in 1896 l Ca the other hand In 1Hs2 the profit'