The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-07-31
MANV MILLIONS
HAVE BEEN FILCHED
BY the Standard Oil company-Forth-
Coming Report Gives Startling
Details.


Washington, d. G., July 31.-The pub
lie Is paying larger tribute than ever
to the STANDARD oil trust. The citizen
who lights his household BY kerosene
lamp Is yielding to the trust net
profit Of about cents gallon more
than OF years ago. The exactions are
pronounced all along the line. The
trust has in no sense benefited. tile con
sumer BY its great organized efficiency,
but, on the contrary, notwithstanding
its boast Of having reduced prices, has
been taking more money from the con
sumer's pocket.
An army Of special agents Of the
bureau of corporations has been inves.
tigating for many months the question
Of oil prices. An official Of the depart
ment Of commerce and labor, Of which
the bureau OF corporations il a part,
says today that the conclusions viii
astound the country. He says the Stan
dard's impurities in fishing money from
the people are most fragrant and have
been constantly % the increase The
margin Of profit between crude oil and
refined oil Il larger than ii ever was
and the trusts average dividends are
fatter..
The bureau is understood to have in
its possession extensive tables Of fig
ures, gathered from almost every state
These have been tseted carefully, to
eliminate the possibility Of error. The
informant says these tables prove be-
yond any question that the difference
between the cost of crude oil to the
trust alld the cost of refining oil il ap-
proximately two cents gallon more
than 10 years ago.
The same statement applies in the
manufacture of by-produets and docs
not take into account trade and indus
trial conditions which further inure to-
the Standards benefits. This increase
would alone yield an enormous profit,
but the trusts entire profit Is about
three times as much.
The bureau of corporations Is prepar.
ing report II all the facts which the
special agents have gathered are in
cluded, the report will deal the trust
one Of teh heaviest blows it has ever
had from the government. The con.
illusions of the agents make a most
sweeping arraignment in every partic.
ular. These conclusions riddle the ar.
guments the trusts officers have often
reiterated and which were renewed re-
Gently in statemen put out after
John D. Rockefeller had testified before
Federal District Judge Lands at Chi
cago Instead Of using their efficient
organization to theadYancingofcon
organization to the advantage OF con
sumers, the trust officials have been con
stantly advancing the price Of oil and
other petroleum products, absolutely and
relatively.
Commissioner Herbert Knox Smith Il
understood to have concluded that the
users Of Illuminating oil, gasoline, etc,
would have been much better off, had
there been full and free competition
during the last 40 years. He sees not
scintilla Of truth III the Standards con
tentions that it has been public bene-
factor.
The inquiries by the governments
agents have been most exhaustive. They
have gone into the price history Of
crude oils and into the cost Of manufac-
ture at retincries These have been com
pared year BY year and locality By To-
oality. Thereby the special agents have
been able to compute with exactncss
what generous profit would be- After
allowing such profit they find that
Tire average price Of Illuminating oil
per gallon is fully cents more than
il should be.
The last report by the bureau of cor
porations on the operations Of the
Standard Oil dealt largely with trans
portation questions. 1t showed great
Advantages TO the truts in freight rates
and greaC organized efficiency in exclud
ing independent companies from equal
railroad facilities. The further inyesti
cations condemn in just as strong terms
the Standards methods IN exacting
many millions Of dollars annually from
consumers.