The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1908-09-26
ROCKEFELLER
AS I'm AUTHOR
John D. Discusses Methods Of
Standard Oil Company.
SAYS IT WAS ALWAYS FAIR

Declares Tru-t Did Not Ruin competi-
tors D. Cutting Prices ard Did No;
Have j Soyal Road to Supremacy.
Favors Federal or State Regulation
Of Corporations to Prevent Frauds
Upon the Public, and Says Corpor.
s;ions Are Necessity.
New York. sept 24-John d. Rock
efcilcr appears for the first time in
the role OF an author in series oi
articles on some Random Rcmn,s
ccnccs of Men and Events" the first
of which will appear ON Friday in the
October issue of Tho Worlds Work.
Mr. Rockefeller gives as one reason
| for speaking now that "if a tenth oil
| the th.nks that have been said are
truc. then dozens OF able and faithful
wcn who have been associated with
me many of whom have pa ssed away
must have been guilty of grave faults
/ For myself ! had decided To- say moth
/ ins. hoping that after my death tho
| truth would gradually come to tho sur
/ iace and po,tcrty would do strict JUS
| uco. but while l live and can TESTIFY
l to certain things IL seems fair that /
/ should refer TO some points which J
/ hope viii help To sct forth several
much discussed happenings in new
/ urnt ! ana convinced that thoy have
! not been fully understood"
Nr. Rockefeller speaks of tho dcvcl
'pmont of tho STANDARD oil company
aud says that the plan of selling direct
to thc consumer and the exceptionally
rapid growth of the business bred a
certain antagunism which / suppose
could not have been avoided" or the
direct selling To the consumer hc
SAYS.
This was done in n fair spirit and
| with due consideration for every ones
rights. We did not ruthlessly go after
the trade of our competitors and at
tempt to ruin 80 by cutting prices or
insuuuuc spy system" II any OF
the employees OF the company were
! ovcrzoaious in going after sales. hc
says that they acted in violation OF
| the expressed and known wishes OF
! the company. Further ON he says.
Another thing to be remembered
about the so-callod octopus is that
there has been no water introduced
/ into the capital (pcrhaps we felt that
oil and watcr would not have miNeH
nor i'm all these years has any one had
TO wait for money which the Standard
owed. II is a common thing 10 hear
people say that this company has
| crushed out its competitors. Only the
| uniformed could make such an asser-
tiun. Il has and always has had. and
always Will have hundreds of active
| competitors - The Standard has
not now. and never did have. a royal
road 10 supremacy. nor is fits success
due to any one man. but 90 the multi
tude of able men who are working to
gether."
In discussing the modern corpor-
alton" Mr.. Rockefeller says.
1t is too late TO argue about advan-
| tages of industrial combinations They
are a necessity And if Americans are
TO have the privilege OF extending
| their business in all the state of the
| Union. and into foreign countries as
well, they are a necessity on a large
scale, and require the agency of more
| than one corporation"
} Mr.. Rockefeller recalls what he said
at an official hearing that IL were
to suggest any legislation regarding
| industrial compensatiOns 1t would b..
first federal legislation under which
corporations may be created and rega-
lated II that be possible; second. in
lieu thereof. state legislation as near
| ly 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"
At another point Mr. Rockefeller
says: The great business interests
will. / hope. so comport themselves
that foreign capital will consider it a
desirable thing to hold shares in Amer
lean companiCS. IL H for Americans
to see that foreign investors are well
and honestly treated. so that they viii
never regret purchases Of our securi-
/ tees"