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Show vjvj fiASflllNFRFPflRT DliUKlIuNUIiLuu Federal Trade Commission Presents Results of Investigation Investi-gation of Raise in Prices. Washington. April 10. The federal trade commission today presented to congress a preliminary report on the investigation in the raise of the price of gasoline. The report carries a mass of statistics on production and prices but draws no conclusion as to the cause of the increase of the latter. lat-ter. Of alleged price discrimination ol which the committee is charged with investigating under a senate resolution, resolu-tion, the report says: "If prices are found to have been raised to higher levels in some sections sec-tions rather than In others the committee com-mittee mnkes due allowance for quality qual-ity of product, freight and marketing conditions, it may be"" Inferred that am element of artificial manipulation has entered into the advance." One table submitted with the report shows that tank wagon prices were higher in the west in January 1915, than they were in tho east, were high er a year later in the eaBL Tho same relation was shown between prices In the east and the weBt after freight was deducted. No mention was made of differences In marketing conditions in the two sections. Suggestions that increasing exports have been partly to blame for higher prices aro considered in a table that shows 1915 oxports amounted to fifteen fif-teen per cent of the entire gasoline content of all tho crude petroleum produced In the United States within tho year. Exports for the year of gasoline, naptha and benzino totalled 2S4.600.000 gallons against 230,500,000 in 1914 and 188,000,000 In 1913. Crude Oil Production. The tables take up first crude oil production for 1915 and show that while production virtually waa unchanged un-changed throughout the twelve months the production In tho Caahlng field, whose oil shows the highest gasoline gas-oline content of all, dropped from more than 8,000,000 barrels in April 1915, to 8,000,000 in December. Increase In-crease In production in the Hcaldton field, which produces a small .percentage .percent-age of gasoline, kept the total orudo production up to normal. The effect of decreased production in the Cii3hlng field In gasoline terms Ib given in a foot not whloh nay tho gasoline content of oil from the Cushlng field fell from 96,000,000 gallons gal-lons in April to 36,000,000 gallons in December. The gasoline content of all -the oil produced In tte Ualted States decreased de-creased during tho year. The estimate esti-mate of the year's total gasoline con-tenitfor4aU,Uw-oilhvth-cpufltry ra.J 1,892,500,000 gallons. Crude oil stocks Increased during tho year from sixty nine billion barrels bar-rels in January 1915, to one hundred billion in January 1916. Standard Oil companies, the tables show, produced about 60 per cent of the year's gasoline output. Their total was 681,750,000 gallons and that of the independents 400,000,000 in round figures. Gasoline stocks held by refineries decreased steadily from last May when the total Is put at 292,000,000 gallons to December with a total of only 152,000. Stocks increased from the first of the year to May. Prices Ranges Higher. Price ranges show that the price charged by the Independents averages about one cent higher than Standard Oil prices. The Standard was selling gasoline F. O. B. at Its refineries U 7,82 cents a gallon January 1, 1915, and the Independents were charging 8.3S for the same grade. Thero was little change until August when the Standard price went to 7.SS and the Independent price dropped to -S.02. Four months later in December the Standard was charging 12.S4 and tho independents 13.07. A table of territorial price changes F. O. B. refineries shows that in January Jan-uary 1915. the' Standard was selling at G.98 cents In Oklahoma and Kansas. Kan-sas. 7.2 in Texas and Louisiana; 7.9C in north central territory, S.l eastern territory; 9.4 in Rocky Mountain territory ter-ritory and 9.34 in California. In December the price changes had changed and eastern territory were paying higher than the others for its gasoline. December territory at prices pri-ces are given: Oklahoma Kansas, 12.10; Texas, Louisiana. 11.34; North central 12.2S, east 14.09. Rocky Mountains 11.55; and California 11.93. Differences In the cost of the crudp affects the price in various parts of the country. A later report will take that feature in detail to show what percentage of price differences can be traced directly to crude prices. |