The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-04-10
PrObers Encounter Surprise in
Gasoline Investigation.
Reach No Conclusion as TO
Reign of High Price.
ENORMOUS EXPORTS, A CUE
Gain Nearly Million Gallons in
Two Years.
Standard COMPANIES Produced
go Per Cent of Total Output.

washington. April 10.-The federal
trade commission today presented to
congress a preliminary report on its
Investigation of the rise in the price
IN gasoline. The report carries mass
Of statistics on production and prices
but draws no conclusion as 10 the
cause of the increase of the latter.
OF alleged price discrimlnauons'
which the commission is charged with
investigating under a senate resoIu-
ton. the report says;
IF prices are found to have been
raised to higher levels in some sec
lions than in others, making due al
lowance for quality Of product trels nv
and marketing conditions. 1t may pc
Inferred that an element of artificial
manipulation has entered into the
advance"
Conditions Reversed.
81 One table submitted with the report
shows that tank wagon prices
higher in the west in January, 1915,
f5an they were in the east were high
er a year later in the east. The same
relation was shown between prices in
east and west after freight was de-
Quoted. No mention was made of Diff
ferences in marketing conditions in
the two sections.
Suggestions that increasing exports
have been partly to blame for higher
prices are considered in a table that
shows 1915 exports amounted to 10
per cent of the entire gasoline content
in the United States within the year.
Exports for the year of gasoline,
naphtha and benzine totalled 2S4,50O,-
600 gallons against 23S,500.000 in 1914
and 1SS.OOO.OOO in 1913.
Gushing Field Falls Off.
The table. takes up first crude oil
production for 1915 and shows that
Il ~sr-f1f
changed throughout the twelve months
the production in the Cushing field,
whose oil shows the highest gasoline
content of all. dropped from more
than 100000 barrels in April 1915,
to three millions in December. In
crease in production in the Healdton
field which produces a small percent
age of gasoline. kept the total crude
production mp to normal.
The effect of decreased production
IN the Cushing field in gasoline terms
is given in a foot note which says the
content OF oil from the Cushing field
fell from 100000 gallons in April,
to 100000 gallons in December.
The gasoline content of all the oil pro-
duced in the United States decreased
during the year. The estimate of the
years total gasoline content for all oil
in the country was 1892, 5000 600 gal
Ions.
independents Charge Cent More.
crude oil STOCKS increased during
the year from SO million barrels in
January. 1915, to one hundred million
in January, 1916. OF this refineries
held about one-half the supply a year
ago and not quite that percentage in
January of this year, though holding
some eight million barrels more last
January than year ago.
Standard Oil companies, the table
shows. produced about so per cent OF
the years gasoline output. Their to-
tai was 6S1.75O,O0O gallons and that
Of the Independents 4OO,00O,OOO in
round figures.
Gasoline stocks held by refineries
decreased steadily from last May
when the total is put at 292,0OO,0OO
gallons to December with a total of
only 1872, 100000. Stocks increased
from the first of the year to May
Price ranges show that the price
charged by the Independents averages
about one cent higher than Standard
oil prices. The Standard was selling
gasoline f. o. b. at its refineries at
7.S2 cents a gallon January /, 1915,
and the independents were charging
S.3S for the same grade. There was
little change until August, when the
Standard price went to 7.SS and the
Independent price dropped to SOC.
Four months later. in December, the
Standard was charging 1884 and the
fDdenendRuts g OF