The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-05-20
STANDARD OIL IS MONOPOLY. Commissioner of Cor porations Attacks It. RAILWAY DISCRIMINATION Big Trust a Monopoly Past Thirty-
 five Years. Competition Destroyed and Control OAs tained Largely Through Abuse q Transportatiop FaciiIties--Re-
 port Is Submitted To the
 President.

Washington, May 19--That the hiss tory and present operation of the Standard Oil interest shows throughout monopolization of the petroleum indus try Of the country, deliberate destruc- ton of competition and a conseQuent control of that industry by less than a dozen men. who have reaped enormous pronts therefrom. largely through abuse of the transportation facilities" is chaged in report just submitted to President Roosevelt by Commissioner of Corporations Herbert Knox Smith.
 Part one of the report was made pubs lie today. and other parts will follow. certain information acquired is wlth- held for the present. in accordance with instructions of the President, who feels that their publication might interiors with the prosecution of the governs ment's suits pending against the Stand ard oil Company. and It's subsidiary companies. The report contains the net results of study of the petroleum business during ths yer 1904.
 It is the first official statement or the operation and methods of the Stan- dard oil Company by which. the re- port states, through "scandalous rail- way discriminations" and other un- lawful devices. they have secured and maintained an exclusive domination of the petroleum industry"
 It is stated that In 1904, the Stan- dard and affiliated concerns refined over S4 per cent of the crude oil run through refineries; produced more than S6 per cent of the country's total out put of Illuminating oil; maintained a similar proportion of the export trade In Illuminating oil and transported through pipe lines nearly nine tentha of the crude oil of the older fields and 9s per cent of the crude oil of Mid- Continental fields"
 The report points out that the mon. opoly enjoyed by the company does not rest on the ownership of the source of the oil supply, which amounts 10 about only one sixth of the total BuS that it's growth and present power rests primarily on the control of the transportation facilities"
 Established Secret Rates. After the railroad rebate was aban- doned the company, the report contins ues. was able to establish a system ol secret or open discrimination of rates in its favor throughout practically thS entire country. Having established 1t monopoly of the pipe line business "th< company substantially refuses to act af a common carrier"
 It Is shown that the Standard cons trols not only the wholesale but alaa the retail trade in oil.
 In conclusion the report says 1t is apparent that the dominating positions of the Standard oil Company in the oil industry has largely been secured by the abuse of transportation facilities. first by fragrant discrimination obtains ed from railroads. second by refusal to operate it's pipe lines so as to ex- tend to independent consumers the bus- mess to which they are entitled, while at the same time the Standard has pre- vented such Independent interests from constructing lines of their own.