The Washington herald., 1914-06-14

but his rewards have been simply prodi-
gious.
"why not bring his business down "a
| Q competitive basis and give the people
oil at fair prices? The independents.
competing with the Standard and one
another, are not strong enough financially
nor cohesive enough to spend $sA009.nC
for new pipe lines. The pipe lines Of TIE
Standard were laid under wagon roads
and railroads, and even under navigabIe
rivers and in right and by logic should
when paid for become the property Of
the people.
I'VE have built q canal In Panama with
public money. We are about to build
q railway In Alaska with public I-oney.
We are digging out rivers and harbors
with public money. We are running the
postofnce with public money. Wisely
spent. some s5oooo.ooo. say. Of public
money. would break up the worst monop-
oily the world has ever known.
The Decision Became . spsr.
"And the expenditure would be great
personal service to the army of able
men who are running the refineries. pipe
lines, and sales agencies Of the Standard.
Il would make them abler men still. The
dissolution of the corporation by the
court increased the efficiency Of those
In charge OF the various branches of the
business. Managers of refineries are now
matched against one another. The Union
Tank Line Company owed 100000 at the
time the decision of the court was hand
ed down. Last year it earned over 10
per cent on its capitalization.
Under normal conditions there are
four divisions In the petroleum industry.
First comes the production Of crude oil
The second division has to do with trans
portation-getting the crude oil to re-
fining centers. Manufacturing. naturally.
follows. Finally. the refined oil must be
sold. Back in 1870. petroleum found In
ern Pennsylvania was bottled by Samuel
Kier and peddled as linament.
1T was George II. Bissel. q graduate
Of Dartmouth College. who. finding a
bottle OF 'Kier's Rock OIL good for man
and beast. perceived the commercial pos
sibilities Of petroleum. He organized the
Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. Thus
the industry was started. Oil from the
FIRST well to be dug-it was seventy feet
deep and cost s3,ooO-sold at SIS a barrel.
The second well was drilled by William
Barnsdali, q Titusvilie tanner. Its how.
like the fret well, was twenty-five bar
rels q day. Barnsdall received 81, 900 for
his oil In five months.
Then the boom broke. Millionaires
were made over night Mr.. Rockefeller
came into the game when refneries were
no more than rough little shacks in gull
leys which agents refused to insure
against fire. There was competition in
those days. but by and by Mr.. Rockefel-
Ter controlled the petroleum trade. Once
In control, all that he and his patrners
and his managers had to do was to
watch the corners and stand pat
Always Followed the Prospectors.
Genius Is not required In the manage
ment Of q monopoly-once It Ii in motion.
The Standard was superbly organized.
No man can say less. Moreover. monop-
oily never dulled Its vision nor caused II
to grow careless. II followed the pros
pectors wherever the signs led them
into the Ohio-Indiana fields, to the Pa
cific Coast. to the mid-continent regions,
to the gushers OF Texas and then back
10 Illinois. Everywhere the Standard
was ready with its gathering lines, its
pipe lines. and its storage tanks.
Meanwhile II built refneries at
strategic points. to which its crude oil
was piped and from which II shipped its
products on short hauls by rail That
was brilliant management. Rehneries
were established at Bayonne, y. j.. on
New York Harbor. for seaboard and
European trade: at Buffalo. Cleveland.