The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-09-15


 petitioners were not qualified voters of the town. This started the ball a-rolling and hot words were soon in evidence A second petition was presented about a month ago and the requested election was called.
 The outcome of the election is awaited with interest The result cannot be fore- casted, as both sides are claiming ma jority of the ballots Mayor Perryman stated yesterday that he did not believe there would be more than 50 votes for i'm mediate annexation. MT. Lindsay was equally as confident of the victory of the annexationists.
 The polls will be open this morning at o'clock and will close this afternoon at 6 o'clock.
 ......................s.. .s........................ was one of two alternatives for us: We could either give in, like other inde- pendent dealers had done, or we could go into the oil business and fight them on their own ground.
 Went Into oil Business.
 We went into the oil business. That must have given the octopus great surprise. But they did not despair of putting us out of business. They began to slash prices. They knew that they had enough money to kill us and they started in to do 1t. They cut prices until we were unable to meet them. They even went so far as to offer their oil for nothing.
 You must understand, however, that they were losing nothing. They would make up in the price they charged cus- toners where they had no opposition. But they failed to take into consideration the love of fair play of the American people l went to the people and face to face told them that unless they stood by me and actually paid me more for my oil than the Standard Oil company was selling 1t for that l would have to get out of business.
 And what do you suppose those peo- pie did? I want this spread over the world: They stood by me to man and they are doing so today.
 But the trust did not give up hope. They could not understand why they could not get rid of us. They had got ten rid of hundreds of other men who had attempted opposition. So they tried other methods, more drastic and dir tier.
 They hired spies to dog our foot steps and follow our every business move- ment. Some of these men they got into our employ. One of these was to make a report of everything we did as often as possible and for every report he was to receive $50. In that way they were able to counteract our every move.
 "They hired well-dressed, good-loolxing, slick young men and provided them with plenty of money with which to take our young women clerks and stenographers out to wine and dine them and then, If possible, worm our business secrets from them.
 Plant Is Burned.
 "When our business had grown so that it was the biggest concern of the kind in the world there was a fire in AL bany. It started in our plant and 1t was almost totally destroyed. We were al most ruined because we had little or no insurance.
 "We make no accusations in connection with the starting of that fire, but want to tell you that every man and woman and child in Albany placed that crime where 1t belonged.
 "Much other destruction of our prop erty followed. At West Springfield 10,- 900 gallons of our oil was let loose from the tanks and 1t was lost. Some miscreant did 1t.
 Later at Pittsburg 5000 gallons of oil was let lOOSe III lu6 Sdllo way. IL was done to injure us. It was not &C., cidental. Our cars were wrecked on the railroads. In some instances it required 80 days time in which to circle the globe twice in this age of steam and electricity--it required 80 days for us to get oil shipped to us when it should have reached us in from four to six days.
 "That the railroads were in league with the trust 1t was easily suscepti- ble of proof. Here is one random in- stance. We shipped oil to Vermont. It went on the same train as that of tho Standard Oil company from the same place. But we found and proved 1t in court that while the trust was shipping their oil at cents hundred we were compelled to pay 80 cents a hundred
 Company Was Fined.
 "The company was fined for this. The sum assessed was about $1S,000.000. Did they pay the fine? They paid this just the same as they have paid the $29,00O,- 900 fine.
 T hold in my hand shippers way bill. It is photographic copy of a bill that I have in my safe at home. It shows to any one who looks at it clearly that the oil of the Standard company is carried free and it is marked free on the bill while all about it, above and below, are the shipments of mercandise of other bus mess men who were compelled to pay the regular price.
 we were not only compelled to