Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-08-12
ROBBED BY
OIL TRUST
PUBLIC PLUNpERED BY STAN
pARD is SMITHS REPORT
COMMISSIONER EXPOSES DECEIT
OF OCTOPUS
In Report to President, Head of Corr
poraton Burean Describes How
Giant Combination Throt-
ties All Competition
Ey Associated Press.

Ey Associated Press.
WASHINGTON, Aug. IL. - "The
Standard Oil company is a most con-
spicuous example of combination
which maintains n substantial mon
opoIy, not by superiority of service and
by charging reasonable prices, but by
unfair methods of destroying compete
tiOn; combination which then uses
the power thus unfairly gained to OPP
press the public through wholly extor-
tiOnate prices"
This paragraph fairly sounds the
keynote of the continuation of the ex-
posure of Standard Oil methods made
by Herbert Knox Smith, commissioner
of corporations.
Commissioner Smith made his first
report on the oil trust to President
Roosevelt about two weeks ago. Car
rying out his investigation he will to-
morrow submit the following report deal
ing with discrimination, domestic and for
eign prices, price discrimination in do
mestic trade, and prices of railroad
lubricating oils:
In the business of selling petroleum
products in foreign countries the
price policy of the Standard Oil COM
pany has apparently been to sacri-
flee the interests of the American
consumer for the purpose of securing
the Standards foreign business,
which is a very important one. In
1904 over 55 per cent of the illuminat-
ing oil produced in this country was
exported, of which the Standard ex-
ported about 81 per cent.
The relative movement of oil prices
as distinguished from their absolute
level has shown for the last eight
years a startling disparity between
the United States and foreign mar
kets, particularly from 1902 to 1905
The American price steadily advanced
from 1897 to 1903. The New York ex-
port price advanced much less up to
1903 declining in 1904, and the Ham
burg Germany price shows practical
ly the same movement as the New
York export prico, while the London
price shows steady decline from
1901 TO 1904 and a very important
drop during 1905. The course of Amer
lean and foreign prices in the last
five years covered by this report has
shown a greatly increased divergence,
in general the American prices going
up and the foreign prices showing a
marked decline
Still more remarkable is the COM
parison tof the absolute level of prices
Gas distinguished from their move
menD of the United States and for
eign markets. The statistics obtained
for these computations were secured
by representative of the bureau,
who visited the more important Euro
pean oil-consumng countries and Sc
cured accurate and representative
data.
1t should be noted in comparing alb
soute prices of American with for
eign markets that a difference of
about l cent per gallon must be al
lowed for on account of the differ.
ence in the quality of oil sold in the
two markets, water-white oil being
the basis of the American prices and
standard white the basis of foreign
prices Water-white oil is worth
about / cent more than standard
white. Therefore, l cent per gallon
should be deducted from the differ
ence between American prices and
foreign prices. The following sum-
mary statement shows the average of
the monthly prices for the periods
specified after deducting transport
costs and duties: