The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-19

about half the prices of g 50 which we formerly paid for them.n
 Saving on Bonds.
 Mir. Rockefeller said the savings on the | barrels represented a large saving to the company and represented one of the in novations developed by the company.
 By the things that we used from time to llme We were enabled to produce at prices | lower than that which we previously paid. as our capital increased" said Mr. Rockefeller.
 Let me ask you about the house which you established here" said MT. Milburn.
 Yes, that was an advantage. IL gave Us an opportunity to learn of the foreign ] markets and export trade. We were con stantly in need of increasing capital. As our business developed and in New York We were enabled to secure larger sums of money at lower rates than in the west. l We were always able to obtain large sums of money and l am thankful to 1 say, we always had good credit. We always kept our covenants and paid our i bills. Our ability to secure large loans was of great advantage to Us. Thus l we extended our facilities with New York l bankers, with whom kept our deposits l and we got our money at the cheapest l rates in the cheapest money market ill the world"
 Connections Formed. Through the acquaintance made by Will liam Rockefeller with wealthy men in New York connections were formed en- abling the company to borrow large sums for the further extension of the business. the witness stated. Some of those wlsb aided him in obtaining funds were Anzi Stone and Benjamin Brewster. New York he said, was the largest exporting point at that time, and was today. The re- fined oil passed through the warehouse here after 1t went to the cooperage where it was gone over before it was placed on board a ship. MT. Rockefeller said that to further save expenses the company found it profitable to lighter it own oil from the cars to the warehouses in this city. He added:
 We made these improvements as fast as we could provide capital for them. Other companies had to pay the expense of lighterage. which, with the commits sions for selling oil and the warehouse charge, made their charges heavier than ours
 Hard times came upon the oil trade early in the seventies" said the witness. "The business was much overdone be- cause refneries had been erected so rap idy that the profit was much lessened."
 Talks to Reporters.
 A recess of five minutes was then taken to ventilate the room, and in the mean time Mir. Rockefeller went over and talked with the newspaper men. He suggested that they ought to have a room five times as large, but Mir. Milburn said there would be five times as many people if they did that the only way would be to charge aomission.
 "Oh, nor said MT. Rockefeller. Not if they are as nice as the people here We want to introduce all the economies you understand"
 When asked after the recess if coeroive measures were employed in acquiring the stock of other oil companies in ohio MT. Rockefeller replied:
 None whatever" He continued: "For myself I can say that the methods used always were abso- lutely fair"
 Did you have negotiations after the organization of the Standard Oil Com pany of Ohio with other. interests looking to their purchaser MT. Rockefeller was asked.
 Big Refining Company.
 'Yes. In the last part of 1871 we con- sumated negotiations for the then firm of Clark. Payne & Co This company was a very considerable refining company next to us in size. The members were Col. Oliver Payne, James H. Clark and John Huntington.
 ''The next one that we bought, if I am right, was Alexander Schofield & Co. They were next in importance in the business" Did these negotiations include Clark Payne & Con-
 Yes"
 Were there other negotiations?Y
 Yes there were other refining concerns having lesser importance which we pur- chased. I don't remember the names. I should say that I had negotiations with six or eight concerns. These concerns were all in Cleveland. l could not say definitely how many were purchased. There might have been a dozen, more or less. beginning with Clark, Payne & Co. They were not all at one time Some were in 1871 and early in 1872 and some in the last of 1870"
 How did these negotiations arise?"
 "In the natural way" said MT. Rock efeller. We were all friends and en- 1oyed our prosperity together. We rec ognized that changing conditions were lessening the chances of profits We were unsuccessful in obtaining large capital at that time and many capitalists feared to risk money in oil refining. There were many schemes floated on property of little value. Owing to the dissatisfaction with such concerns it was hard to obtain money I remember I visited J. P. Wade in Cleveland and he told me politely and hlHui9 ludL lle WOulu DOl invest any money in the oil business" Large Sums Borrowed. MT. Rockefeller said that to cope with changing conditions it was necessary to obtain capital and purchase the Cleveland companies which the witness said en- abled the Standard to borrow large sums of money by having associated with it many of it's recognized friends We realized" said MT. Rockefeller that the larger company decreased the cost of production and increased the volume of business. The companies were purchased part in cash and part in stock of the Standard company"
 1 Did you use any coercive means to secure these eompanies?
 None whatever" said MT. Rockefeller, 1 they were all fair negotiations. I may i say for myself that they were the kind of negotiations l have always used. I have used no other"
 You had faith in the business, MT. l Rockefeller?''
 l "Oh. yes.' he replied. But some did not?'
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