Year: 1872

The committee appointed by the
New York Petroleum Association to
visit the oil regions returned yesterday
afternoon to this city, having accom-.
plished their mission. A Herald re-
porter last evening called on Henry
ii. Rogers, chairman Of the commit
tee, to ascertain in general way his
opinions relatives To- the troubles in the
oil section, aud the following is a sum,
mary-ee what he stated :--a


We went out to the oil regions to
find out the exact state of affairs there,
SO that we might be able to report to
the association facts upon which ba-
sis might be formed for action. The
cause If the trouble lies between the
producers aud the Southern Improve.
ment Company. This company
got a charter from the Pennsylva-
MIA Legislature a year or so ago,
and upon this commenced recently to
work in earnest. What the charter
allows them to do nobody knows; for
they refuse to show it to any one or
make its provisions public to the mer-
camille world. At all events, whatev-
er it be, the Southern Improvement
Company set to work and manipulated
the three railroads running from the
oil regipns-namelv, the Erie, New
York Central and Pennsylvania Cen.
tral. 1t is said that the railroad off
GERS, who are mostly Cleveland people,
have been entirely in control of the
leaders Of the Southern Improvement
Company, who are also Cleveland men.
The secret Of the matter is that Cleve-
land wants to retain its monopoly of
the oil trade. From the very begin
ming Cleveland and Pittsburgh have
always had leading interest in oil,
and now that in fair race they must
yield to competition, they have


STRAINED EVERY NERVE TO CREATE a


MONOPOLY.


The object of the Southern Improve.
mcnt Company is to aid and sustain
Cleveland. As things have been go-
ing on it was meant that oil produced
at the Creek should be sent to Cleve
land for refining and after being sent
back again at price at least equal to
oil refined at the Greek. Hence, it
may be seen at Il glance how the rail
road interest was necessary for the
monopoly. Controlling as they do
the three railroads, the munopolists
have been able to control the price of
oil and in controlling the price of oil
have been enabled to become exclu-
sive purchasers. If any producer
dared to refuse to soil oil ut the price
named by the monopoly, he could not
sell ~ all. If producers generally
hitherto held out against the price fix.
ed by the monopoly, they could not
sell at all. This delemma was brought
about by the monopoly having control
of the railroads. If the producers
sold to other buyers than the monopo-
ly, then the latter, having control of
the freight rates, so increased their
rates that it was necessary for the pro-
ducers to increase the price of oil.
Hence the monopolsts have been
able TO 90 into the market, fix the
price Of the oil, and even compel the
producer to Sell at loss to himself.
III response to allegations against them
such as those stated, the monopoists
affirm that their sole object has
been to bring about the harmonious
system OF freight rates, and to this
end only have they influenced the rail
road people. The answer to this, how
ever, is that they persistently refuse to
come to any settled rate, that they


REFUSE TO SHOW THEIR CHARTER


and continue to work in mysterious
powerful way,and that railroads could
control their own roads without the
Southern Improvement Company. I'm
der these circumstances the producers,
and, in fact, the inhabitants of the oil
region generally, have come to the de-
termination to resist the monopoly.
The entire region is divided into dis.
tricts, each district having commit
tee Of its own, subject to the General
Executive Committee, and through
these committees it is now proposed to
beat the mOnOpOlists. Every produ-
Ger has pledged himself to support the
producers Union" and each district
committee has been instructed not, un-
der any circumstances or for any
price, to sell oil to the Southern I'M
provement Company or any Of its
agents. Already this resolve has come
into effect, and during last week the
monopolists were refused oil, and even,
in one case, n contract previously
made with them was broken by the
producer. But this opposition is only
now at its start 1t is felt all over the
whole region, AID is on the increase in
bitterness. The producers can hold
out against what they call "the enc
my" for about four months, but they
need the assistance of capitalists, and
this, to some extent, they have already
got from the eastern cities Probably
from the western cities also they will
be literally aided. They offer, as Sc.