The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1907-11-01
STANDARD OIL PROFITS .,.
THE PUBLIC

iAe TO s3OS,S5S.4o3! rot., -
amounting to siso.al5.s34, The Stan.
dard oil stockholders got Oh. -.
ii'So iaeto- they must be robbers M
wonder the average urban ci,,zan
although he buys practically no oil
feels a sense OF wrong As be- coma
"rs these huge figures.
The nimble statistician : 81
quick 10 prove, estimating tho nonu
ia'l"n of the country at So ooo aon
IhaJ in The seven years each ono of
Us has YEARLY contributed fifty cents
10 II" dividends Rockefeller -, !
have drawn. We bewail tba lo.s :
that half dollar with exceeding LAM,
taJion. Although We have No hone &c
recovering IL, We propose To go ,fro,
the tilcheTs thereof. even though in
he Aild We so upset business as ia
lcsS hundred other half dollars Tn
this wise and prudent course a bigh.
~ intelligent public, speaking from =
million throats, urges on pnhlic Off.
GERS. under penalty of instant anarb-
ema if they deliberate.
Exceedingly simple and direct i
the reasoning OF the man who i rs
inS his free lung Ia proclaim tba nor
rible awfulness of the obviously AN.
fuL
Unfortunately. however. when the
case i examined into. its extreme
simplicity disappears There is more
10 The matter than merely convicriug
the EefarioUs company ~ universal
shouting and drumming it into bank
ruptcy- Here is a huge business ma
chine, with scores OF refinprieS. hun
dreds Of miles Of pipe lines. thousands
OF employees It's ships traverse ev-
cry sE2 and the sale o. the commod-
i1y ~ carry goes far toward pre-
venting 4 money drain on America
that could not be endured. If Messrs.
BOn8paTJe and Kellogg are 10 explode
the bomb they are laboriously manu-
featuring aud the Standard Oil Com
pany il scattered in a thousand frag
mentS Who Is 10 have the pieces
Perish the thought that the bits arr
TO be- distributed among the stock
holders of the Standard OIL Company
for ar they not the very thieves We
are pursuing? II would be a ridicu
lous after-climaX 10 capture burglar
after infinite trouble and then restore
10 him the Implements of his craft
II We break up the present STANDARD
Oil organization and then sOlemnly
by decree Of court, hand over its con
stiTuuOnal companies to Rockefeller
Rogers and ArchbOld. the misCreant
within a fortnight would doubtless be
az theirl old tricks of selling all tn
oil they could at the highest pric,
they could secure Henry Q. Have
meyer once had the effronIery 10 sa!
10 a congressional commission: As
business proposition. il is right To &c
all out of the business you pcsSlbl!
can. There is no evidence that IL
dealing in oil makes for higher ethics
Il the Dresent Standard Oil Compan,
is dissolved. as il the prayer OF IN
government prosecutor, and the prop
erty j. turned over 10 its present Own
a he
er the transfer viii induce them t.
become altruisrs. spurning profit am
working solely for the JOY of socia
service
And anorhar factor disJuTbs SIN
plicity and directness of Judgment
is not absolutely certain that Ne nav
been robbed TO the extent OF han
dollar wear each. 1t Viii generally b
conceded that the oil eenueme
should he allowed 10 make someJhlh-
Perhaps it is only a dime year INA
has been lifted from our pockets
the other forty cents being I'-''
lua-a collection. And, alas. 4 IL h'
absolutely certain dat even a d''.
IA, l,t-a Crimfnally suhJT2ci'a-
Tho standard oil COMPANY Is 81
ea-.d 81 IN. business Of buying cru"
l,e,ro-,au and TRANSFORMING II i"."
C-ab,. .ru&pe-. 1t huyE an- rti.-'
-b. marin between the price palA /,
rrs3. oil ana The price al which u