New-York tribune., 1909-01-10
STANDARD Oils ORIGIN
Dir. Miibusn's City CIub Speech Sng-
gests ThaIes Founded Com pa,sy.

Amid considerable laughter Guglielmo Ferrero,
the Italian historian assisted John G.. Milburn OF
counsel for the Standard Oil Company. to set the
date and relate the circumstances Of the estab-
lshInent OF the irst oil monopoly yesterday Mr.
Miburn telling two hundred members of the
City Club and their wives at q luncheon given by
the club yesterday in honor of Mr.. Ferrero that
he had been interested recently In reading about
Aristotle and Of his contemporaries
'I know something of monopolies, so called. OF
the present day. said Mr.. Milburn, smiling. land
have found out by reading my history that there
philosopher who lived about 400 B. C. who
vas once pcued at remark of a friend 30 the
effect that the philosopher did not appear to De
well off in the worlds material things. He was
disturbed and thought. The stars soon told him he
would find wealth II he would buy up all the wins
presses in the country. because the next season
was going to be fine one for grapes
THE grape crop gathered
You mean the olive crop" interposed MI Fer
rero with gentle decisiveness Of tone. You mean
the olive crop. and Thales bought UP the OIL
presses"
Did Standard OIL begin, then, in 600 B. c in
Quired George Haven Putnam, who was presiding
The laughter caused Mr. Milburn to thank MT
Ferrero again for the intimate knowledge OF an
cient times which. he said. association with hlfn
his books to nstil.
Mr. Ferrero said he could not talk upon the sub
ject assigned to him, which the corruption OF
ancient Rome compared with that which was to be
found here
II take it it is what you Americans call joke.
he added Il can't do that, for the simple reason
that 10 compare two things must know some
thing about both of them and 1 know only about
ancient Rome and its corruption. What / can tell
you, speaking generally. is that corruption IS
probably more dangerous to-day than it was In
ancient Rome The modern world is much richer
than ancient Rome We imagine the ban
quets of that time of unspeakabe grandeur 1t
is q mistake They would think here all
enipero-s. How poor were the ancients in their
official lives! They had forks. and. what IL
worse, they had napkins. The ladies could not
wear silk dresses ladies do. nor If We lived
then. would have many jewels.
Some millionaires to-day, however may not hope
to buy Immortality such men in those less ex-
travagant times obtained l hope no one here will
think despise Rome because drink
and richer wines. 1 think when all these
splendors are over the history of Rome will still
teach that there is true greatness based
solely on material success / wish for your
in your fight against political and other varie
ties of corruption / drink to the prosperity, not
OF the American commonwealth, but to the Amer
can Republic by which I I wish success to
the American people both materially and morally.
Mr.. Milburn said:
II see signs now Of the decadence of that purely
materialistc absorption which has seemed to be
necessary in this country for the last thrty-hve
years There signa in the skies full of promise
for the next twenty-five years. One of those signs
is the interest in the presence of italian
scholar ] feel that I him q great personal
debt OF gratitude coming here and accentuating
that fact
1t was the first o. series OF Saturday 1uncheons
which, II was said, will be indefinitely continued by
the City Club.
Hunter Alfred J. Bouton, the Rev. John P. Peters.
Henry George jr., Everett P. Wheeler, W Frank
Persons Jacob H schif, Franklin Pierce and J. e.
Spingarn