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
On the 29th day of April, 1879, the Grand Jury of the County of Clarion
found an indictment against John D. Rockefeller, William Rockefeller,
Jabez A. Bostwick, Daniel O’Day, William G. Warden, Charles Lockhart,
Henry M. Flagler, Jacob J. Vandergrift and George W. Girty. (Girty was
the cashier of the Standard Oil Company.) There were eight counts in the
indictment, and charged, in brief, a conspiracy for the purpose of
securing a monopoly of the business of buying and selling crude
petroleum, and to prevent others than themselves from buying and selling
and making a legitimate profit thereby; a combination to oppress and
injure those engaged in producing petroleum; a conspiracy to prevent
others than themselves from engaging in the business of refining
petroleum, and to secure a monopoly of that business for themselves; a
combination to injure the carrying trade of the Allegheny Valley and
Pennsylvania Railroad Companies by preventing them from receiving the
natural petroleum traffic; to divert the traffic naturally belonging to
the Pennsylvania carriers to those of other states by unlawful means;
and to extort from railroad companies unreasonable rebates and
commissions, and by fraudulent means and devices to control the market
prices of crude and refined petroleum and acquire unlawful gains
thereby.[78]
Four of the persons mentioned in the indictment—Messrs. O’Day, Warden,
Lockhart and Vandergrift—all citizens of Pennsylvania, gave bail, and
early in June application was made to Governor Hoyt of Pennsylvania to
issue a requisition before the Governor of New York for the extradition
of the other five gentlemen.
With damaging testimony piling up day by day in three states, and with
an indictment for conspiracy hanging over the heads of himself and eight
of his associates, matters looked gloomy for John D. Rockefeller in the
spring of 1879. “The good of the oil business” certainly seemed in
danger.
CHAPTER EIGHT
THE COMPROMISE OF 1880
THE PRODUCERS’ SUIT AGAINST ROCKEFELLER AND HIS ASSOCIATES USED BY THE
STANDARD TO PROTECT ITSELF—SUITS AGAINST THE TRANSPORTATION
COMPANIES ARE DELAYED—TRIAL OF ROCKEFELLER AND HIS ASSOCIATES FOR
CONSPIRACY POSTPONED—ALL OF THE SUITS WITHDRAWN IN RETURN FOR
AGREEMENTS OF THE STANDARD AND THE PENNSYLVANIA TO CEASE THEIR
PRACTICES AGAINST THE PRODUCERS—WITH THIS COMPROMISE THE SECOND
PETROLEUM PRODUCERS’ UNION COMES TO AN END—PRODUCERS THEMSELVES TO
BLAME FOR NOT STANDING BEHIND THEIR LEADERS—STANDARD AGAIN ENFORCES
ORDERS OBJECTIONABLE TO PRODUCERS—MORE OUTBREAKS IN THE OIL
REGIONS—ROCKEFELLER HAVING SILENCED ORGANISED OPPOSITION PROCEEDS TO
SILENCE INDIVIDUAL COMPLAINT.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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