The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-10-31
Officers Claim it Will Take
at Least Two Years
to Determine it
WHAT PRESIDENT Of
ONE Of THE TRUSTS
SAYS ON the SUBJECT

'Theorizing'' Oh the Possible Outcome
Of the ~Segregations. the 'PresiGent
of One of the Largest Industrial
the Ultimate Outcome of 1t All
But What He Says Will Be Taken
Reader Who Bears in Mind the
Relationship Of the Speaker to the
the Tobacco Trust. He Says: "Just
Watch the Numerous Companies
Go Up in Smoke. With Naught But
Ashes to Tel the Tale"-Tobacco
Trust Disposes of One OF Its Sub
salaries in New Orleans-Other
Particulars men Yesterdays De-
velopments; For it Was a Trust
Buster Day.
New York. Oct. 26.-Representa-
uves OF the leading industrial CORPORA
tons hold to the opinion tina it will
be at least two years before one ,can
obtain a definite idea as to the effect
the dissolution OF the Standard Oil
Company. h United States Steel Cor
poration and American Tobacco Com
pany will have on the petroleum. steel
n tobacco industries of the country.
In other words. these companies
Will ave to operate for that length
or time under the new conditions be-
lore one can determine results.
whether they be beneficial or detri-
mental.
Possible Outcome Of Segreeations.
Inc president OF one of the largest
industrial companies, theories as FOL
lows on the possible outcome Of the
Standard Oil segregation. and the
same, he says. applies to the tobacco
n steel companies:
The Standard Oil Company for the
last ten years has been maintaining
Wnat Halght be erme reasonable
prices for its products. The small
have been able to conduct
their business profitably, for the rea-
son that they could sell their products
at slight concessions from the prices
asked by their large competitor: from
now on. however. it viii be open
competition. and the survival Of the
fttest. There will be thirty-fve com
panies to take the place Of the
Standard.
Object of the Government.
"The object Of the government
seems to be to restore competitive
conditions. These thirty-fve COM
panies will operate without dictation
from a central office. Heretofore the
competitors Of the Standard Oil Com
pany would complain that the Stand
ard was driving them out of business
II the larger company started to re-
duce prices in a certain district.
Now the Oil ompany
fs no longer a combination in re-
straint of trade. and its price policy
will not be subject to the adverse
criticism which prevailed when it was
supposed to be operating in violation
of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
Wish May be Father t This Thought.
Il am not inclined to be pessimistic,
but it Is my opinion that the return
of the petroleum, steel and tobacco
industries to competitive methods
will work great injury to the ~so-called
small independents, and that within
a reasonable period Of time the pc
troleun. steel and tobacco industries
will be concentrated in fewer hands
than they are today. There is an
o~verproduction of petroleum., and his
will prove a burden in so far as main
tanning a price equilibrium is con-
Cerned.
THE Standard Oil Company has
been treating the oil producers alike
SO far as taking their surplus Oil ia
concerned. 1t has purchased oil
when consumption was far below
production. AS an example, it has
been carrying in its tanks close to
6 100000 gallons Of oil. valued at