Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-21
AIDS THE PRODUCER
Effect of Decree DissoIving
Standard Oil Company.
VIEW OF AN INDEPENDENT
Answer to Criticism of Taft Admin
istration in Letter Just
Made Public.
VIEW OF AN INDEPENDENT

Attorney General Wickersham has made
public letter from c. D. Chamberlain
secretary and general counsel of the Ma
tional Petroleum Association, an organi-
cation of Independent refining compa MES
sustaining the contention of the admins
tratfon that the decree dissolving the
Standard Oil Company was effective, as
sought by the lawmaking branch Of the
government
Mr.. Wickersham also makes public a
statement. accompanying the copy OF the
letter of Mr.. Chamberlain. in which he
says that he has been making careful in
vestigation, through many sources, of the
oils and their products, as affected by
the. decree of dissolution of the company
agreed to by the government and the com.
pany. He asserts that the dissolution
gives precisely the relief that was sough,
by the Roosevelt administration. Col
Roosevelt has been criticising the disco
luton decree as ineffective.
In pursuing his investigations, Mr.
Wickersham says, he wrote to the sec.
rotary of the association of Independent,
refiners asking for comparison of con-
ditions prior TO and since the decree OF
dissolution.
MI. Chamberlain Reply.
The answer of Mr.. Chamberlain was
as follows:
1T is not easy TO draw sharp line
for the purposes of comparison be-
tween the conditions Of the oil busi-
ness at the date to which you refer,
when. the Supreme Court decided the
STANDARD Oil case in May. 1911. and the
present time. because the effect Of the
government prosecution of the stand
ard Oil combination began practically
with the filing of that suit in Novem-
Der. 1906; and from that date the prac-
tices of the Standard Oil combination
in large measure ceased to be preda-
tory, and the independent dealers be-
gan to have a chance to live.
This condition continuously imprOv-
ed during the tendency of the govern
ment.s suit. and that Improvement has
continued since the decree of dissolu-
ton. SO that it may be safely stated
that the giving Of rebates upon which
the Standard Oil monopoly was built
up has ceased. preferential rates are
few and far between, disclosure or In
formation by carriers OF competitive
shipments Is no longer practiced, price
cutting below cost to kill competition
Is rare, and many other unethical COM
mercial practices have become SO in
frequent as hardly to cause complaint
facturer and refiner of oil is able to
conduct his business with a fair share
Of profit reasonably due him, and with
out the fearful handicap under which
he labored before the government
suit was brought.
Standard Losing Control.
in 1906 returns from the Oil industry
show that the Standard Oil combination
controlled about 81 per cent OF the entire
oil business Of the United States, and. the
remaining 16 per cent was distributed
among the Independent companies. The
most accurate data which l have been
able to secure show that at the present
time the independent companies control
"a per cent. exclusive Of California.
where. / am informed, the independents
control nearly 60 per cent.
You will. of course. recall that 1t was
never the policy Of the Standard Oil
combination to own the Oil wells. and
their actual ownership was but . triding
percentage OF the whole, being not more