Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1908-11-25

as Mt Andrews a practical re-
fner2'
That was the reason he was Civ
en- 3 part interest in the business.
said Mr.. Rockefeller He was a
practical refner of oil and it gave
him an excellent opportunity to asso-
ciate himself in the business in this
wa.
Now tell US of the advantages and
disadvantages of Cleveland as re
sning point, said Mr. Milburn.
7 should say that Cleveland was
the best distributing point to obtain
the domestic trade" replied Mr..
Rockefeller. 4 suppose it had natur,
al advantages. We always had the
trade that we could supply by the
lakes. Many railways led into the
west and to the eastward we had the
lake shore. ard at times we availed
ourselves Of the Pennsylvania rail
road. We generally though, availed
ourselves of the northern lines such
as the Lake Shore. New York Central
and Atlantic and Great Western. We
also had a water route TO New York
by Lake Erie. the Erie canal and the
Hudson river. This was an advantage
as we had the capital to take this
slower route of transportation The
disadvantage Of Cleveland was that
we had long haul to the seaboard
for the export trade We also had to
haul the crude oil to Cleveland"
owned Largest Refinery.
What was the comparative size of
your refinery to others at that time
lin 1S7O'
81 believe it was the largest in the
country at that time
The company was capitalized at
81, 900 900"
Was that considered large CAPT
talization?" asked Mr. Milburn.
Yes, replied Mr.. Rockefeller. II,
was considered very large We
thought it very large as we started in
1860 with $4,000"
Were many improvements noted in
the business?'
Yes. manv improvements were
made said Mr. Rockefeller. we
improved machinery and made our
own barrels. We have bought the
barrels. which held about "A gallons,
from the coopers and we thought we
were paying a high price at about
$3.50 a piece Some of these barrels
were made of green wood, and often
the insides were damp. This caused
a shrinkage after the barrels We're
filled We then bought the wood our
selves and dried it in our own kilns
lin the forest. Thus we had dry wood.
We made our own barrels, which not
only were satisfactory because they
reduced leakage bit they were in
creased in size increasing the capac,
ity by nearly gallons. These bar
rels cost us when we manufactured
them about half Of the price. $3.50
which we formerly paid for them"
Save Money on Barrels.
Mr. Rockefeller saiG The savings oil
the barrels represented a large saving
to the company and represented one
LOT the innova tons developed in the
company
The things that we used from
time 10 time we were enabled to pro-
duce at prices lower than that when
We previously paid, as our capital in
creased, said Mr.. Rookie .elIer.
Let me ask you about the house
which you established here. said Mr..
MiIburn.
That was an advantage. 1t gave
MS an opportunity TO learn of the for
eign markets and the export trade.
We We're constantly in need of in
creasing capital as our business de-
veloped and in New York we were
enabled to secure larger sums Of mon.
ey at lower rates than in the west
We were alwa. able to obtain large
sums Of money and, I am thankful to
say, We always had good credit We
always kept our covenants and paid
cur bills. Our ability to secure large
loans was Of great advantage to us.
Thus We extended our facilities with
New York bankers with whom we
kept our deposits. and we got GU
money at the cheapest market in the
world"
William Had Rich Friends.
Though the acquaintance made by
William Rockefeller with wealthy men
in New York, connections vert
formed enabling the company to Dor
row large sums for the further extern
sion OF the business, the witness said.
Some of those who aided him in OBJ
tanning funds were AMI Stone and
Benjamin Brewster New York, he
said was the largest exporting point
at that time and is today The re
fined oil passed through the ware
house here, after which it went to
the cooperage. where it was gone
over before it was placed on board
shit
Mr.. Rockefeller said that to further
save expenses the company found il
profitable to lighter its own oil f.om
the cars to the warehouses in this
city. He added: we made tnesa
improve ments as fast as we could
provide capital for them. Other com.
panies had 10 pay the expense Of