| Show GRINDING OF TRUSTS + Some Information As to the Standard Stand-ard Oil Company + FREEZES OUT OPPOSITION + THEN RAISESTHE PRICE ON ITS CUSTOMERS IMcznber of a Rival Concern Who Has Withstood the Standards Oppression Op-pression Gives Testimony Before the Industrial Commission little lit-tle or No Profit Left to Producer I Washington May 1L The IndustrialS industrial-S commission today heard the first witness wit-ness to be called in connection with its S inquiry into the operation of trusts The itncss was HOI James W Lee of Plttsburg attorney for several ripe IIIPS and oil companies and formerly a state senator oC Pennsylvania TWr Lees testimony vas directed ttpfccialy against the Stamlarl Oil company Speaking of the effect of trusts upon the customer Mr Lee said th3 tendency ten-dency was to increase prices until they bet ame extortionate Trusts were organized or-ganized to secure a monopoly and vhea this wai securci bv closing up TI il 1 establishments they were in u S 7iosition to fix prices which were according i ac-cording to his observation generally S inneased in order to permit dividends S im watered stock This had been eminently emi-nently true of the Standard Oil company com-pany The Freezingout Process A3 an illustration ho said that when the Pure Oil company in which the witness is interested wont into the Held in new York in 135 they found the Standard selling I at u 2 cents a gallon gal-lon The price was almost immediately reduced to 3 cents and nad remained there since the obje1 being to drive out the rival The first price was inordinately in-ordinately high hut the latter was ruinously low and while the independent independ-ent company had met the reduction it had done so at T loss He thought the competition had resulted in a paving of fully 3000000 to the people of Greater New York The same condition of affairs af-fairs existed at competitive points He estimated that the Standard company com-pany had within the past twenty years absorbed about 100 Independent companies com-panies but that the companies with which he was connected had refused to sell at an advance of 1 per cent in cost when they were about to be closed b the sheriff Business Profitable Now This refusal had been dictated largely by sentiment now however the independent inde-pendent companies wer doing a profitable profit-able business He knew of several refineries re-fineries whlih had been purchased at high prices bv the Standard company and then had been shut down He cad also heard that men had received a bonus to remain idle but he had no personal information on this subject Mr Lee said the Standard Oil company com-pany had nade an effort to prevent the < xtension of the business of the Independent In-dependent companies to foreign markets mar-kets by busing up the tankage at given points and by selling at lower prices than prevailed even in the United States Still the Independent companies were able to compete abroad largely because in Great Britain and in Germany Ger-many and in some Other countries competition com-petition was preserved to a greater extent ex-tent than in the United States In Germany Ger-many no one was allowed to do business busi-ness at a loss S The profit made abroad was what enabled the independent companies to continue in existence a the business in this country alone was unprofitable Aim of the Trust Mr Lee said the aim of the trust was to get a complete monopoly of business fixing the price as it may please and leaving little t > r no profit to the pc ducer As an illustration he said the Standard Oil cornpaiiy had malntaind the nrce paid for crude oil at G > cents per banel for a year and that for the ten years prior tp 1S93 the price paid had averaged only SO cents per barrel i whereas the average cost of producUoa was not less than 1 He further expressed the opinion th ot the counties in Pennsylvania whii h had produced all the oil turned out in that state amounting to about SOOOLU COO barrels were worse off for the out juc He thought that if there had bein llfty refireries instead of the Standaid cm company the market would have been just as extensive the consumer would have gotten his oil as cheaply and tle priducer would have been much better off Where has the balance gone asked Mr Livingston I I 1 think the witness replied the Standard Oil company could explain that Thc understanding Is that H has realized about 5000000 I |
