The National tribune., 1908-12-17
rIsE. n.nonreYs.

| The testimony of C. w. Archbofd, of
the Standard OIL, .is fun Of meat for
thet by those who are discussing
1.-The trust question There is one feature
fsf the trusts, and the absolutely domi-
tnant one, which has been wholly lost
sight of in the desperate effort OF the
TRUST busters to make their voices heard.
As to the Objectionable features OF the
trusts, and they are very many, we
have heard at length, but nobody has
| paid attention to why trusts actually
exist. Mr. Archbolds testimony throws
strong light on this. Before the
Standard Oil began consolidating the
oil refineries these were losing money
| by the immense quantity of waste prod
uets for which they could find no sale.
Like the other trusts the Standard Oil
Company succeeded by its greater
economy. For example, one refinery
would be running ON burning oil and
throwing away all, or virtually all, its
naphtha. Iubrieating oil, paraffine. etc.
Another factory would be running on
benzine and napItha and throwing
away the rest of the contents of the
crude Oil The Standard Oils success
was that it perfected an arrangement
by which all these so-called waste prod
Jicts were made marketable products.
The naphtha was all taken care of and
put into the market and the develop
ment of the gasoline engine brought a
demand for it only second to that fer
Illuminating OIL The heavier oils were
also taken care of, and finally great
demand was created for the waste par
affine by making candles of it. sue
eessfuI process of this Kind resulted in
making most of the candles now in use
out Of paraffine, to the exclusion of the
tallow formerly used. Taseline is an
other waste product which was devel-
oped into something of use and profit
able market secured for it.
What the Standard Oil has done with
regard to the oil business other trusts
have done for other branches of bust
ness. The great abattoirs of Chicago,
Kansas City. and elsewhere can get a
great deal more out of a COW or pig
than any small slaughter house can, for
the reason that every waste product is
utilized and goes to increase the profits
upon the carcass. They say in Chi
eago that they use every part of the
hog except the saueal. and they are
now developing a method to can this
and use it fer Populist oratory. auto
mobile horns. and other more or less
tsenseless and irritating noises.
| The great shoe factories are another
| illustration Of the economies brought
about in the utilization of the waste
products. and we might go on thru the
whole list of the trusts. Every one of
them has a reason for being. because
| it can manufacture with greater econe-
mics than the small individual manu-
faeturers. We must recognize these
facts, and that the trusts have come TO
stay. This will enable us to approach
the discussion in a saner and more eff
fective way. We can understand the
usefulness of trust in providing cheap
er goods for the consumer, and, there
fore, being Of service to the community,
but this being the case gives it no right
to be tyrannicaL proscriptfve or tn tust.
These are real. palpabie evils that may
be corrected and viii be, if We direct
our attention TO them rather than to
maintaining hysteria against all
trffets