The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1917-10-09

Galicia and RoumanIs- The German
American OH Company there. through
which the American oil was distributed.
although a German company. was con-
trolled by American capital. and Ger
man capital was largely interested in
the Galician and Roumanlan oil fields.
The oil from Galicia and RoumanIa Is
not as good in quality as that imported
from America
Before my arrival In Germany the
government had proposed a law creating
the oil monopoly; that u to say. a vast
company was to be created, controlled
by the government for the purpose Of
carrying on the entire oil business of
Germany; and no other person or COM
pany, by Its provisions. was to be al
lowed to sell any Illuminating oil or
similar products In the empire.
The bill provided that the business
OF those engaged in the wholesale
selling Of oil. and their plants. etc.
should be taken over by this govern
ment company, condemned, and paid
for.
The German American Company.
however, has also q retail business
and plant throughout Germany, for
which IL was proposed that no com.
pensation should be given. The gov
ernment bill also contained certain
curious "jokers." For Instance. Il
provided for the taking over of all
plants within the customs limit OF
the German empire" thus leaving out
of the compensation a refinery which
was situated In the free part OF Ham.
burg: although. OF course. by opera,
tion OF the monopoly bill this refinery
was rendered useless to the Ameri-
ean-controlled company which owned
It.
In the course OF this investigation
Il came to light that the Prussian
state railways were used a. a means
OF discriminating against the Ameri-
can oil. American oil came to Ger
many through the port OF Hamburg
and the Galician and Roumanien oil
through the frontier town OF Oder
berg. Taking a delivery point equally
distant between Oderberg and Ham.
burg. the rate charged on oil from
Hamburg to this point was twice as
great as that charged for a similar
quantity of oil from Oderberg.
Fighting German OIL Monopoly.
took up this nsht on the line
that the company must be compen
stated for all OF its property, that
used in retail as we'll as wholesale
business. and second, that It must
be compensated for the good will Of
its business, which IL had built ur
through a number OF years by the
expenditure of very large sums OF
money. or course. where a company
has been in operation for years, and
Is continually advertising its busi- |
ness, its good will often Is its great |
est asset. and has often been built up |
by the greatest expenditure OF money |
For instance. in buying a successful |
the value does not lie in |
the real estate, presses. ard so on, |
but in the good will of the news |
paper. the result of years OF work |
and expensive advertising.
made no objection that the Ger
man government did not have a per |
feet right to create this monopoly and |
to put the American-controlle com |
pany entirely out of the field, but |
insisted upon a fair compensation for |
all its property and good will. Even a |
fair compensation for the property |
and good will would have started the |
monopoly company with a |
large debt upon which IL would have |
been required to pay interest This in |
terest, OF course, would have been |
added to the cost of oil to the German
consumer. In my final conversation |
on the subject with Chancellor Won
he said: "You
don't mean TO say that President Will
son and Secretary Bryan will do any
thing for the Standard OIL Company"
I answered that every one in Amer.
lea knew that the Standard Oil Com.
pany had neither influence with nor
control over President Wilson and
Bryan, and that they both
could and would give the Standard OIL
Company the same measure of protec-
ton which any American citizen doing
business abroad had q right to expect
from his Government" I also said that
! thought they had done enough for
the Germans interested In the Galician
and Roumanian oil fields when they