The Daily Alaska empire., 1937-05-24
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER

John D Rockefeller, who typified the richest man in the world for the greater part of century is dead at the advanced age of 97 While not actually the richest man in the world, the elder Rockefeller in the more active days controlled such vast wealth that he popularly was referred the worlds weathest and every school boys idea of having lots of money was to be rich Rockefeller thus the name Rocke- feller became symbolic of money and has remained so during the years.
 Starting bookkeeper in a commission house in Cleveland MT Rockefeller to be a business genius and made his really big money in oil founding the now famous Standard Oil Company
 From the beginning the oil industry was highly speculative Thousands of men with all sorts of business experience and many with no real training dashed into the field to get rich quick. It was good deal the it was many years later in Oklahoma, Texas and southern California when a new well was brought in with big flow, scores of men drove other wells with frantic haste near by. Often the petroleum had to be stored in pools on the ground The oil market alternated violently be- tween feast and famine new gushers came in or old wells dry and prices varied accordingly. These sudden fluctuations in the late eos wrecked many refiners
 But John D. Rockefeller and his associates, though young men, were experienced veterans in business
 
 trained for years in ways of economy and exact ac- counting. They seemed to manage better than any of their competitors When they formed the Standard oil Company of Ohio they had the largest refining business in Cleveland.
 Nevertheless they told their reighbors that un- less sort of organization could be formed for mutual protection they could see that they well as the others, would be wiped out by one the market fluctuated Accordingly MT. Rockefeller first asked the largest firm among his competitors if it would to join forces with the Standard Oil Con- pany. The offer accepted at once Other neigh bors then in until at the end of two years all the petroleum refiners of Cleveland members of the Standard Oil Company.
 Cleveland became one of the chief oil refining centers of the country, taking the place previously occupied by Pittsburgh Soon the principal refners of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia sought to join the Standard Oil organization. They welcomed into the alliance of interests, were many other con- cerns in New York New Jersey, New England and the oil regions of Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
 For several years the stocks of these several com panies held in private trust. but in 1882 the Standard Oil Trust formed to hold them all. The total dividends paid by the Standard Oil combination from its formation in 1882 its dissolution in 1911 were estimated at S75l000,000.
 Mir Rockefeer's colossal wealth and power made him of the greatest economic factors of his time With him began the real development of big busi- ness and the of the so-called swollen fortunes, which gave rise to much public agitation and new political doctrines.
 His fame passed through various social phases. His money was sought and accepted to found instu- ons for the study and suppression of disease and to spread education and religion His gifts were crit- cized by some who called him public menace One gift he made was attacked by critics who called it tainted money" charging that his business system destroyed open competition. But, after investiga- ton the gift accepted.
 No man corporation has ever been more bitter ly assailed than John D Rockefeller and the Standard Oil Company Rivals from the earliest days accused them both of crushing out competition, of getting rich and rebates of freight charges from the railroad companies, of bribing men to spy on competing companies
 Popular writers of the muck -rakng' period re- iterated the charges in magazines and books For many years it was the unbroken policy of MT Rocke- feer and his associates to say nothing and saw wood" though they met all attacks before courts, legislatures and commissions and won most of the issues.
 The most spectacular of these cases came in 1907 when Judge Kenesaw M Landis. then of the federal district court in Chicago forced MT Rockefeller to appear witness, then fined the Standard Oil Com pany of Indiana $20000 on each of 1462 counts, charging acceptance Of rebates shipment of oil. The total penalty of $29240000 paid, the supreme court reversed the case.
 Those were the days of trust busting and the Standard Oil suffered the fate of several other com binatons when in 1911, the supreme court acting under the Sherman Antitrust Act, ordered it dis solved But the various constituent concerns into which it split prospered more than when under the direct control.
 < Although MT Rockefeller had retired from active daily business Is years earlier he retained the title