Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-11-19
Rockefeller MAKES Good WITNESS.

and it gave HON an excellent oppor-
tunity to associate himself in the bust
ness in this way"
Now tell us Of the advantages and
disadvantages of Cleveland as re-
filming point" said Mr.. Milburn.
II should say that Cleveland was
the best distributing point TO obtain
the domestic trade" replied MIR. Rookie
Teller Il suppose it had natural ad-
vantages We always had the trade
that we could supply by the lakes.
Many railroads led into the west and
to the eastward we had the Lake
Shore, Atlantic and Great Western,
the New York Central. the Erie and at
times We availeG ourselves Of the
Pennsylvania railroad. We generally,
though, awaited ourselves Of the north
ern lines such as the Lake Shore. New
York and Atlantic and Great Western.
We also had c water route to New
York by Lake Eric. the Erie canal
and Iridson river This was an advan~
tace as we had the cal ita' to take
this tower route Ct transportation.
The disadvantage OF Cleveland was
that We had q eng haul to the sea-
board for the exrcrt trade. We also
nae t. haul the crude %! to Cleve-
ldod
What was the comparative size of
your refinery to others at that time
in $50
II believe it was the largest in the
,n:rN at that Time
THE company was capitalized at
81 800, 300 was that considered a large
Capitalization? asked Mr.. Milburn.
yves" replied Mr.. Rockefeller. 1T
was con SACRED large. We thought 1t
very large as we started in 1860 with
I $4,000.
Eyes. many improvements were
made We improved machinery and
made our barrels. Shall | speak of the
barrels? We bought the barrels which
held about "A gallons from the coopers
and we thought we were paying a high
price at about $3.50 apiece. Some of
these barrels were made of green
| wood and often the insides Were
damp. This caused a shrinkage af-
tcr the barrels We're filled. We then
bought the wood ourselves and dried
it in our own klins in the forest. Thus
we had dry wood. We made our own
barrels which not only We're satisfac-
| tory because they reduced leakage. but
were Increased in size, increasing the
capacity by nearly five gallons.
These barrels cost us when we man
| fractured them about half the price
! $3.50 which we formerly paid for them"
Mr.. Rockefeller said the savings on
| the barrels represented a large saw
| ing to the company and represented
g h. tvNr, IL IN
the company.
The things that we used from time
| to time we were enabled to produce
al prices lower than that which we
previously paid as our capital increas-
Cd - said Mr. Rockefeller
"I.et me ask you about the house
| which you established here" said Mr..
Mlburn.
Yes, that was an advantage. 1t gave
| us an opportunity to learn of the for
| eign market and the export trade We
We're constantly in need of increa sing
| capital As our business developed and
| in New York we could secure larger
| sums Of money at lower rates than in
| the West We We're always able to OBJ
| tain large sums of money and l am
| thankful to say, we always had good
| ere dit. We always kept our covenants
| and paid our bills. Our ability to Sc
cure large loans was of great advan-
! tage to us. Thus we extended our ia
cilities with New York bankers with
whom we kept our deposits and we go,
| our money at the cheapest rates in
! the cheapest money market in the
world"
Through the acquaintance of wealthy
men in New York formed by William
| Rockefeller, connections were formed
| enabling the company to borrow large
sums for the further extension of the
| business, the witness stated. Some of
those Who aided HIM in obtaining
funds were Anzi Stone and Benjamin
Brewster. New York, he said, was the
| largest exporting point at that time
ana is today. The refined oil passed
through the warehouse after which il
went to the Conperage where It was
gone over before it was placed on board
ship.
Mr.. Rockefeller said the company
| found it a saving to lighter its own oil
| from the cars to the warehouses in this
| city. He added: I'VE made these i'm
provements as fast as we could provide
| capital for them. Other companies had
to pay the expenses of lighterage
which. with the commissions for selling
oil and the warehouse charge, made
| their charges heavier than ours
Hard times came upon the oil trade
early in the EOS. The business was
ovcrdone because the refineries had
been erected SO rapidly that the profit
was much lessened. A recess of five
minutes was then taken to Ventilate
| the room and meanwhile Mr. Rookie
| felicr Went over and talked with tho
| newspaper men.
| He suggested that they ought tC
have a loom five times as large but
| Mr.. Milhurn said there would be five
times as many people if they did
that the only way would be to charge
admission.
| oh. no." said Mr.. Rockefeller. mot
if they are as nice as the people here
We want to introduce all the econo-
mics. You know
| Did you have negotiations after the
organization of the Standard Oil Co
Of Ohio. with other interests looking
to their purchaser" he was asked.