Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-09-24
j. D. ROCKEFELLER
IN ROLE OF AUTHOR
Gives Some Random Reminis-
cences Of Men and Every
thing Of His Time.

New York, Sept. 24.--J ohm ID. Rocke-
Teller appears for the first time in the
role of an author in series eof articles
on Some Random "Reminiscences Of
Men and Events, the first of which
will appear on Friday In the October
Issue of THE Wold's Work. x *
Fl Mr.. Rockefellersgives- a reason for
speaking now. that IF a tenth Of the
things that have been said are true,
then dozens of able and faithful men
who have been associated with me.
many of whom have passed away, must
have been guilty of grave. faults, For
myself, I had decided to sa nothing.
hoping that after#1ny death the truth
would gradually come to the surface
2and posterity would do strict justice;
but while j live and can testify to GER
tain things 1t seems fair that u should
refer to some points which hope Will
help to set forth several much dis
cussed happenings IN new light.
ann convinced that they have not been
fully understood.
1T has been said that I forced the
men who became my partners in the oil
business to Join with me- l would not
have been so shortsighted. If 1t were
true that | followed such tactics. / ask.
would it have been possible to make Of
such men life-long companions r.
s MIR. Rockefeller speaks OF the devel-
opment of the Standard Oil company
and says that the plan of selling direct
to the consumer and the Exceptionally
rapid growth of the business bred a
certain antagonism which suppose
could not have been avoided. OF the
direct selling to the consumer he says:
This was done In a fair spirit and
with due consideration for every ones
rights. We did not rutnlessiy go after
the trade of our competitors and at
tempt to ruin it by cutting prices or
instituting n spy SYSTEM
* II any of the employees OF the COM
$pany We're over-zealous In going after
sales, he says. that they acted in viola
ton OF the expressed and known wishes
of the company. is
Mr. Rockefeller says that In the early
days the oil industry was considered a
most hazardous undertaking, not alto.
gether unlike the speculative mining,
undertakings we hear SO much OF to-
day.
b None of u.s. he says, ever dream
ed of the magnitude of what proved
TO be the latter expansion"
Further on he says: N
Another thing to be remembered
about the so-called octopus Is that
there has been no water Introduced
into the capital. (Perhaps we felt
that oil and water would not have
&niixcd.) Nor in all these years has
anyone had to wait for money which
thing to boar people say that this
company has crushed out it's compet-
itors. Only the uninformed could
make such an assertion. 1t has had
and always Will have hundreds OF
active competitors.
The Standard has not now and
never did have a royal road to SUI
spremacy, nor is its success due to any
one man. but to the multitude of
able men who are working together"
In discussing the "modern corpora
{ tion.s Mr. Rockefeller says.
.Eeyond question there is suspi-
3cion Of corporations. There may be
reason for such suspicion very often:
for Il corporation may be moral or
immoral Just as algnan may be moral
or the reverse: but II is folly to con
denim all corporations because some
are bad or even 10 be undnly suspi!-
cious, of all because some are bad.
But tile corporation in form and char
aeter331e has come To- stay-that is. a
thing that may be depended upon.
1t Is too late to argue about the
advantages of industrial combinations.
They are a necessity, And If Amerj-
cans are to have tue privilege of ex-
tending their business in all the states
Of the Union and into foreign coun-
tries as well. they are necessity on
a large scale and require the agency
of more than one corporation
Mr.. Rockefeiler5 recalls what he said
ct an official hearing that IF We're
10 suggest any explanation regarding
industrial combinations. it would be.
first. federal legislation under which
corporations may be%created and reg
ulated If that be possible. Second. In
Lieu thereof, state legislation, as near
q " uniform as possible encouraging
combinations of persons and capital
for the purpose of carrying on indus
tries, but sufficient to prevent frauds
upon the public,