The History of the Standard Oil CompanyTarbell, Ida M. (Ida Minerva)
History
The History of the Standard Oil Company
Tarbell, Ida M. (Ida Minerva)
Petroleum industry and trade -- United States -- History; Standard Oil Company -- History
“Another interview at which I was present was either in June or
July. Mr. Scott was present. This interview was brought about
because we had been deprived, as we believed, of getting a
sufficient number of cars we were entitled to. We had telegraphed or
written to Mr. Cassatt—at least, Mr. Ohlen, our agent, had, on
several occasions, and tried to get an interview, and finally this
one was appointed, at which Mr. Scott would be present. When we
arrived there we found Mr. Brundred, from Oil City; and Mr. Scott
went on to state that he thought that we were receiving our fair
proportion of cars. They tried to make us believe and feel, I
suppose, that we were getting our due proportion, when for some
considerable time previous to this we had not been able to do any
business in advance; we could only do business from hand to mouth.
We could not sell any refined oil unless we absolutely had the crude
oil in our possession in New York, and Mr. Lombard, one of our
number, had sold a cargo of crude oil, I think, of 9,000 barrels,
and Denslow and Bush absolutely stopped their refinery for three
weeks consequently, in order to let their oil go to Ayres and
Lombard to finish their vessel, because they would only get three or
four cars a day; and we stopped our place for three weeks to give
them our crude oil, all we could give—our proportion—in order to
lift them out and get their vessel cleared. After trying to impress
upon us that we were getting our proportion of cars, we asked Mr.
Scott substantially the same question we asked Mr. Cassatt in New
York, whether we could have, if there was any means by which we
could have, the same rate of freight as other shippers got, and he
said flatly, ‘No’; and we asked him then if we shipped the same
amount of oil as the Standard, and he said, ‘No,’ and gave the same
reasons Mr. Cassatt had in New York, that the Standard Oil Company
were the only parties that could keep peace among the roads. We
stated to Mr. Scott that we would like to know to what extent we
would be discriminated against, because we wanted to know what
disadvantage we would have to work under. And we went away very much
dissatisfied. All the information we got on that point was from Mr.
Cassatt in New York, when he stated that the discrimination would be
larger on a high rate of freight than on a low rate of freight,
which led us to infer that it was a percentage discrimination. That
is all the point that I recollect we ever got as to the amount of
the commission. We told Mr. Scott that if they hadn’t sufficient
cars on their road we would like to put some on, and he told us
flatly that they had just bought out one line and they would not
allow another one to be put on; that if they hadn’t cars enough they
would build them. He seemed to show considerable feeling that
afternoon, and he said: ‘Well, you have cost us in fighting for you
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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