The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-12-12
ROCKEFELLER'S
OIL CONTROL
CRUMbL|NG
Industry Growing Too Large
for Any One Set of Inter-
ests, Belief.
By MerTyIe Stanley Rukeyser.
copyrighted, 1928, by Star Co., Inc.
and distributed by Cosmopolitan
News Service.l

and distributed by Cosmopolitan
News Service.)
ST. LOUIS, Mo-, Dec. 1.-THE
grip OF the Standard OH interests
on the American petroleum industry
Is weakening.
Not only are the Independents be-
coming holder and more enterprising
but even the members of the so
called Standard Oil group, which
until 1911 were subsidiaries of the
Standard OIL Company of New Jer-
sey and dissolved as a combination
in restraint of trade by the United
States Supreme Court, are reported
to be making increasing efforts to
translate their legal freedom into &C
tual independence.
Industry Too Big.
This significant development is
perhaps the most interesting of the
gubsurface revelations at the fourth
annual meeting Of the American Pc
troleum Institute, now in session.
In articulating this viewpoint,
Thomas A. O'Donnell, president of
the institute and chairman of the
California Petroleum Corporation,
said:
THE industry has grown and
spread over too large an area to be
handled by any group or organiza-
ton Fifty per cent of the petro-
leum industry and 80 per cent of
the consuming public still believe it
IL regulated by few people or or
CARNATIONS.
'.No matter what was true In the
past that condition does not exist
today. Many still believe that GER
tain men only have to post a notice
In order to bring prosperity, having
superhuman intelligence. know
them. They are human like the rest
OF US. They make mistakes-sorne
Of them terrible"
I discussed this intimation that the
Rockefeller group no longer exercises
their former monopolistic control
with some Of the principal indie
who are among the 10000 delegates
here.
Tie Is Broken.
In their opinion the community of
interest Of the various Standard OIL
companies into which the original
trust was broken some twelve years
ago was very strong factor in the
guidance of the group for many
years.
Until the close of the war virtu.
ally all Oil men marched in harmony
with the tunes played at 26 Broad
way. Several times, however. on the
petroleum war service committee the
leadership Of Standard Oil men was
challenged by Independents on the
COMMITTEES. Then, on the theory that
leadership begets leadership and lack
OF IL begets disinte grafton, ambitious
men In the other Standard Oil COM
panles began to assert themselves.
Inc movement was relatively un-
important until this year when
enormous overproduction of oil ali
nut wrecked the industry. The de-
moralization tried many tempers
and disturbed habits. With the
executives of the parent Standard
Oh Company. the one with the
Jersey charter hampered by legal
restrictions which made any at
tempt to dictate to other interests
dangerous, oil men observe behind
the scenes tendencies toward a
crunpilng or the old combination.
moreover the present executives
OF the one-time parent COMPANY
though able generalissimos, are of
q different stamp than John d.
rockefeller, whose name earlier in
the century was synonymous with
oil. The dealer Rockefeller has III
vested himself of most of his com.
mon stock in the Standard Oil Com.
pany, much of it going to the
various Rockefeller charitable enter.
prises of John d. Rockefeller. ir.
John D., jr.. is more interested in
social welfare than in graphing
with the routine problems of trade.