The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1910-08-30

I'LL VI a. nus oN w non
Col. E. L. Drake, in 1869, bored
the first productive well along Oil
creek, he not only tapped the "oil
sand" but he also tapped the Sc
cret source of a moral miasma that
was eventually to corrupt the
whole district whereabouts. For
petroleum has become at once the
story and the shame of Venango
and it's surrounding counties. 1t
has made a rich and thriving dis
trict of a barren and infertile
country. 1t has made many mil
lionaires. 1t has also given us
the spectacle of a district in which
it is practically impossible to get
more than a scattering vote for
anybody or anything without the
free use of money.
why" exclaims an indignant
but helpless and all but hopeless
insurgent, "the people here SIM
ply won't take the trouble to vote
unless they are paid for it. They
have been paid for voting ever
since they can remember. They
expect it. A bank note and a car
riage ride to the polls have come
to be taken as a matter of course
as the accepted thing in election
day Manners
The hand of Standard Oil plays
a rather crude game of politics
here. Not that it cannot play the
fine game, but the fine game has
never been needed here. There
has never been need of a biparti-
san alliance such as has been
found expedient in other places to
make sure that the game will be
won, no matter who loses. There
hasn't even been occasion to build
up permanent political machine.
The Standard Oil Co., with its
lubricating oil plants, and other
industrial concerns, it's pipe lines
and pumping stations, is machine
enough.
For example: During the recent
primary campaign, in which Sibley
spent $42,500, an emissary of his
went to the keeper of a general
store in Stoneboro, Mercer county,
and offered him $4,000 to take
charge of Sibley affairs in Stone
boro. The storekeeper, who has
about everybody in Stoneboro on
his books, refused to undertake
tho campaign.
Stoneboro's excuse for being is
a coal mine. Without the coal
mine Stoneboro would be a dead
town. The entire output of the
mine is taken, under contract, by
the Eclipse Refining Co. - a
IoIduudIu Oll COuC6Tu.
Hence it is clear as to how the
affair appealed to the storekeepsr
when he was called to Franklin
and told that unless he used his
influence for Sibley the refining
company would cancel its contract
with the mine, thus necessitating a
|closedown till some new and prob
lematical market could be found,
and, of course, entailing loss and
perhaps ruin to the storekesper,
whose prosperity depended on the
prosperity of the mine.
AT last report the mine was
still running.
That's one of Standard OILS
methods. A simpler one is to go
to some farmer and hire him to
be present at the polls with his
horse and buggy on election day.
OF course the horse and buggy
are never needed for the "dissem-
nation of information" but then
the rig is there, in reserve, and
the owner is there too, in fine
good humor because of the "V"
or tx" that represents the hire"
of the rig. It's natural that he
should vote. and equally natural
that he should vote one way and
not another.
Still another way is the whole
sale method. The management of
y lubricating oil plant in OIL