The Washington times., 1922-08-16
SAYS
j. 5. OIL MARKET
|s.STRANGLED
HarreId Declares Duty OF 36
Cents a Gallon Should Be
Put on Mexico Petroleum.
BY WILLIAM X. HUTCHINSON
International News Service.

international News Service.
Branding three great international
oil companies as monopolists seeking
TO strange the markets OF Amer
ica," Senator Harreld Of Okla. today
demanded the Senate enact a tariff
against Mexican importations TO pre-
vent the destruction Of independent
operators.
Harreld, urging passage Of duty
of IS cents q gallon on Mexican
petroleum, declared y75 100000 would
be paid to the Government annually
II the tariff was enacted. He named
the Standard OIL group, the Edward
d. L. Doheny companies and the
Royal Dutch Shell group as the three
concerns, now controlling the Mexi.
can output. who seek % wipe out all
American independents.
Harreld said his proposed tariff
would not be reflected In the price
OF gasoline, pointing out that recent
reductions in the. price OF crude Oil
had brought no corresp o al ng
slashes In gasoline values.
Public Pays. He Says.
.It 10 the policy of the monopolists
to buy crude oil as cheaply as posi-
BILE and to sell II for all the public
will pay" Harreld charged. we
need not decline to make them pay
a tariff which will furnish the GOV
ernment much needed revenue be-
cause we fear the tax will be passed
on to the consumer. The purchaser
will be forced to pay all he can
whether the tariff passes or not"
Naming the Standard, Doheny and
charged them with seeking to ,ex.
tend their control to all oil supplies
on the American continent. He de-
ciared the three concerns recently
obtained control Of the Union Oil
Company, of Delaware, a $4,000. 900
corporation, the Producers and Re-
finers Corporation, a 10000, 900 con-
Germ, and the Teapot Dome tract in
Wyoming. which he termed the
richest oil pool In the world"
II have often wondered at the in
fluence these n,onopolists have over
certain members OF Congress, Har-
reid continued. They seem able to
employ the friends and relatives Of
members Of Congress in a way that
gives them friends In high places.
Members high In administrative cir
cles are either stockholders In these
monopolistic concerns or have rela-
tives who are, and have ceas I'd to
wonder they get favors from unex-
pected quarters"
Harreld also charged the Dutch
Shell with obtaining an interest in
the r.. w. Mariand properties. hold
ing Usage Indian oil fields In okla
homa which are worth millions OF
dollars.
Sold ut Huge Profit.
Harreld declared Mexican petrol
cum, produced at a cost Of II cents
a barrel, was landed on the Gulf tor
50 cents q barrel and sold to Arleri-
can consumers for $1.50 a barrel.
He urged the tariff to protect Ameri-
can independents against this cheap
production. u
In Oklahoma, he said, the three al
legged "monopolists" produced $500
600 barrels of q $4,000. 200 barrel total
In the quarter ending June so, 1891,
while at the same time in Texas,
they produced 1900. 900 barrels Of
a 21 ,000, 900 barrel total. Citing sta
tistics, Harreld said the Standard
group alone produced 359 per cent
of the Oklahoma output; 51.2 per
cent Of the Texas total; IS per cent
OF the louisiana total; 80 per cent
of the Wyoming rotal; 30 per cent of
the California total and o0 per cent
of all oil produced In all other States
combined.