The Washington times., 1908-11-19
HOW OIL OCTOPUS
MADE IT'S MILLIONS
Fairy Godfather Gives
Thrilling Account Of
Its Success.
rcontinued nom Etrst PaeeS

lur1nE those years Just as they existed.
I'D they inject into the business OF
lefining oil q serious element OF risk
ma uncertainty
Alt could not be otherwise; II could
aot be compared with any other busi-
aess. insomuch as we could not know
aow long the source OF our oil supply
night last
Caused Anxiety.
Q.-was that effect realized al that
ane9
At was a fact that caused the In
Testors In the refining business no little
lnxiety II could not be otherwise, and
specially. as 1 have no doubt, the pace
It which the business required advance
nent ii those early days required the
Investment Il so much money in large
plants And To be left with nothing but
he plant naturally caused apprenen-
ZION.
O.-At that time. Mr.. Rockefeller, is
I not a fact that wells would run and
hen give out?
A.-Oh, certainly. First came the
production and then the gradual giving
but and the abandonment OF the well.
O.-Why was the association OF re-
iners formed?
Ats object was to secure as high
/ price for crude oil as possible.
Q--HOu have said that the Producers
Association practically included all the
men engaged in the production OF Oilg
At was a large percentage.
tl-Iue sane il true as 10 the re-
lners. association?
Ayes
al notice that one OF the features
q the agreement was The fixing o. the
lTice of oil IT s. q barrel OF fOrty-tWO
.allUns each Do you recall that?
A--Yes, l do.
Witness Pleased.
The recollection of this seemed to af-
Get the witness pleasantly, and he
Ieamod upon MI Anlbun.
Q--WIat became OF that?
al cannot say how long il was Op-
.ratlve, Jut The result was as it always
lad been before and always will be
Is ions as OIL cones out Of the ground.
L resulted in an cverproducucn.
Q.-Was it the underlying intention OF
his agreement 10 have some relation
Jctweeu the product and the market"
-N-Ihrre was limitation beyond
which we meTChaudiScTs couldn't 60.
Q-Such an oyerproductiOn could only
aaVe one result?
A.-Such one. That Is. the price
sOuld not be maintained
en- the year '63 was Long Island
refining point?
A.-Ges. sir.
y
as the Long Island Refining Company?
Q.-Wss it a refinery with dock faciu-
les?
Ayes, it was a dock property and
refinery. We purchased both o. them
Q--For what purpose did you make
hat puTChOse2
Ave purchased the dock properly
'Or the general warehouse business and
'Or handling refined oil, which we
shipped to Europe.
Extensive Property.
Q.-Was the dock property an ex-
,en-:ve one?
A-Yes- 1t was very extensive and we
regarded II a very valuable acquisition.
Q--Had you at this time any refinery
facilities at the seaport?
Al should say that wss the begin
ing of the acquisition OF refinery IA
eiLities at the seaport
Q.-How did the refinery at the sea-
port SET its crude material in those
days?
AIN those days over the different
railroads reaching TO the oil regions.
Q.-Was not part Of your plan at this
lime to develop your refining business
At the seabOaTd?
At was our plan to buy that re-
snery and pay for It. and then, as the
days went by. TO let developments de-
.eTmTc any further steps.
Q.-HOw much OF a refinery was 1T
A.-As TO the size, / cannot exactly say.
Il WAS very respectable refining con-
Germ.
Q.-With q domestic trade as well as
an export business?
A---Yes: there was more OF less Of a
domestic trade.
Q.-When you acquired the property,
you utilized il for those purposes and
10 extended your dock facilities very
naturally for your export businessT
A.-Yes. We have used II ever since.
Q.-What about the business of the
OevauX Refining Company
A.-The DevaUX concern was engaged
IN the putting of the oil into cans for
the canning trade, a very desirable
trade in Europe. They had very good
reputation in Europe, and obtained very
remunerative prices for their well es-
,ablished brand Of oil.
Case Order Trade
Q-Theu they were buyers OF re-
fined oil, putting it up for export?
A--Not necessarily buyers. They
may have had arrangements with re-
dners to use their reineries for the pro-
lection OF their supply OF these brands
OF oil. as we'll as purchasers
Odd all oil 80 abroad in barrels or
cans2
Al think so. We called it the case
order" trade,
Q.-Were these cans a specially with
the DeVauN concern?
Ayes. They had certain brands for
which they had built Up a great repu-
LatiOn i'm the far East
Q.-Aud YOU had negotiations with
theme
Ayes, we did and we purchased an
interest in the concern. Later on we
purchased the balance.
Q--DO you recall what was the in
EeTest you purchased in the beginning2
Al should say One-half.
Q,-And the object OF that was what?
A.-TO extend out business; 10 in
erease our chance 10 sell the oil.
Recalls Firm.
Q.-Do you recall the firm of Chef,
Carney and Company?
Al do. They had given much at
tention 10 the domestic trade. They had
an oil which was known Is Pratt s
astral oil. which was very popular. They
also engaged in putting up oil in cans.
They had trade in the East.
ON the Orient2
A--Ies, in the Orient in case oil.