The Washington herald., 1912-10-21
DECISION HELPS
INDEPENDENTS
Attorney General WisksElhan
Makes Public Letter Uphold
ing His Contention.
DOCUMENT DEALS
1L0w 10 R00sEvELT
c. D. Chamberlain Answers Com.
munication in Reference to
Court Acticn.

day made public . document which deal
a hard blow to Col. Roosevelt's conten
tion that the dissolution Of the Stand
ard Oh Company has been farce AM
absolutely ineffective. Mr.. Wickersham'i
answer to this Ii Q letter written I.
him by C. d. Chamberlain, secretar,
and general counsel Of the Nationa
Petroleum Association, an organization
Of Independent refining compaies.
Mr.. Chamberlain says that the decrea
Of the United States Supreme Court in
the Standard Oil case has not only af.
forded the independents relief, but hal
given them a chance to live-has a.
forded them an unrestricted and un.
controlled opportunity to carry on theil
business without unfair secret and op.
pressive competition. Mr.. Chamberlain
says further that there has been q very
substantial increase In the proportion
of the trade controlled by the independ-
ents.
Here Is the Attorney Generals state
ment and the letter:
Relief Has Given.
p THE Attorney General has been max
ing careful inquiries into the present
condition Of the business Of the country
in the production and selling Of crude
OIL and the sale and distribution Of
refined oil and its products, as affected
by the DEGREES of dissolution in the
Standard OIL case. He has already
pointed out on several occasion sthe
fact that the decree in that case gave
precisely the relief which Mr.. Roose-
velts Attorney General and his able as
sistant. Mr.. Frank B. Kellogg. sought in
the bill filed at st. Louis Mr.. kellogg
himself on more than one occasion has
declared that Col Roosevelts statement
that nothing had been accomplished by
the decree was wide Of the truth. and
In Mr. kellogg's annual address before
the American Bar Association, at Mil
waukee. in August 1872. he said: L.
believe absolutely in the justice, in the
and in the economic neces-
sity Of the decisions in the Standard
OIL and Tobacco cases - The
judgment put an end to all the
long list Of unfair methods of COM
petition used for the purpose of crush
ing out and destroying competitors: II
severed the holding company. separated
me subsidiary corporations. and prohib-
ted them from being thereafter man.
aged as one harmonious whole. and
thereby deprived them Of the power to
control the commerce Of the country. To
he smaller corporations and individuals
in the business 1t brought pro-
ection from the control and domination
" the great combination. and TODAY the
Independent manufacturer in the oil
industry Is enjoying the right to engage
business with a fair opportunity to |
'ompste.' 49,. =
The Chamberlain Letter.
For the purpose Of ascertaining the
Jews Of representatives Of the inde-
lepdent dealers on this latter point. the
Attorney General some days ago wrote
o Mr.. c. d. Chamberlain. who il sec-
etary and general counsel Of the Ma
ional Petroleum Association. an asso- /
iation OF a very large number of in
dependent refining companies, embracing
Practically all the companies not con-
lected with the Standard Oil Company
no It's subsidiaries. asking that he fur
isn as accurate Information ss he
ould concerning the present condition
4 the Oil business as contrasted with
IS condition prior to the decree asainst
ne standard OIL combination in May.
sl1"
Mr. Chamberlain has replied to that in.
uiry In the following letter: =
Hon. George w. Wickersham,
Attorney-General,
Washington. d. c.
tier of October 8. in reply to which
ould state that 1t is not easy to draw
snarp line for the purposes of COM
arlson between the conditions of the oil |
isiness at the date to which you refer.
men the Supreme Court decided the |
andard OIL case in May, 1911, and the
esent time, because the effect of the |
prosecution of the Stand
d OIL combination began practicaIlv
ith the filing of that suit in November.
)6; and from that date the practices Of
e STANDARD Oil combination In large
easure ceased to be predatory, and the
dependent dealers began to have a |
ance to live
This condition continuously improved
iring the pendency of the governments
nee the decree of dissolution, 20 that II
ay be safely stated that the Giving of
bates upon which the Standard OH a.,
onopoly was built up has ceased, pref ,
ential rates are few and far between,
sclosure of information by carriers of .
mpetitive shipments is no longer prac- .
'ed. price-cutting below cost to kill =.
mpetition I Is rare; and many other un- ,
heal commercial practices have be- :
me 80 infreauent as hardly to cause
mplaint. Now, however. the indepen-
mt manufacturer and refiner of oil in :
le to conduct his business with a fair
are Of profit reasonably due him, and
thout the fearful handicap under
lich he labored before the govern =
:nt's suit was brought. n
Controlled "a Per Cent. III
In 1906 returns from the oil industry Q
DIV that the Standard Oil combination
1trolled about "a per cent of the entire =
business Of the United States, and the
naming 16 per cent was distributed , =
ong the Independent companies. The =
st accurate data which I have been :
e to secure show that at the present =
le the Independent companies control y
per cent, exclusive Of California. Il
ere, I am informed. the independents
ltrol nearly 60 per cent. In
One other practical result of the II
vernment's prosecution and decree IA u
,wn in the increased prices secured by D,
'ducers Of crude petroleum. The total H.
duction for the last five years (stated b
millions). was: For the year 1907. lo6- an
000 barrels: 1908, 17s.00o 900 barrels; lsoe, hs
100000 barrels: 1870 10e. .000,O 900 barrels: "a
1911, ZOO 1000 barrels. -
You will. Of course, recall that II wasI H
yer the policy Of the Standard OIL 81
to own the oil wells. and y.
ir actual ownership was but q trffiinR ff
Of the whole. being notI e
re than Il per cent IN 100, the latest h
. that I have. Their policy was toI =
ltrol transportation. and ny controll-I n
transportation and the enormousi +
ume OF business in the refined prof.
t, they fixed the price Of crude ati
Tres which they chose to give. Sincel g
( date Of the decree Of dissolutionI
". 1s11) the price Of crude oil hasI
IanCed from a cenfa IN m ra~,ts .t.B