"The Great Oil Octopus."

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 54, 22 March 1912, Page 3

"The Great Oil Octopus."

Story of the Development, Methods, Men, and Results of "Standard Oil."

By London "Truth's" Investigator.

(CopifrigM, .All

"Does Mr. Rockefeller : know that modesty, benevolence, and- piety are tho tricks which deceive tho post peoplo the longest time?"—lda ISfL. Ta-rbell in "McOluro's Magazine." . > ; CHAPTER XV", I , THE LUBRICATING OIL tRADE. Ib is time now to turn to. the' Standard's other English branch, thie Vacuum Oil Company, Limited, whitth posed at first as an American company entirely independent and unconnected; the Standard. It was registered at Somorsot House as a limits liability company, with a capital of £55,000, on May 13,. 1901. Its object was tojtako over tho business of its parent, %> Vacuum Oil Company of Rochester, N;Y,L..S.A, and it purchased all the assote of. that company in the United Kingdpni for £29,947. Up to October,. 10fp,,-, its, five directors were as follow: — _ j ...., John-Dustin Arohbold,' 26, Broadway NY "!•■•• Chades Millard Pratt, 26, Broadway, N.Y. ■'.•■„ , Charles Marvin Everest Rochester NY '' : ' Howard B. Case, Norfdlk Street, Strand. ,' !1, . Henry Foster Grwrsoiil Farnborough, Hants. ,' i

Charles M. Pratt is a soti.jof the late Mr Charles Pratt, who founded the refinery alroady referred to in;iconiwvotion with Mr. H. H. Rogers. Ci M.Everest has been mentioned ia tho IJuitalo explosion prosecution, in wbjich ho was oonvictod. : In 1908 the company adopted new articles providing that, the Jfutnbe.r of -shareholders mustntjver exceed fifty, and binding the directors to refuse to register any transfer.ot shares which ivill have tho effect , of] increasing tho shareholders boyond tliqtt humber. The directors are also empowered to refuso Ui register any transfer of shares without giving their reason fl. The following were the shareholders on' November 30, 1909:— .' ' ; - ■■ ( . i • '■ Shares. Vacuum Oil Company of R<o|cliester, N.Y ~-i- 50 ' 000 Charles Marvin Everest, Roch- , oefcT, N.Y :..... 2,000 Howard B. CSase, managing dirwtor '•■•■ °^ Henry Forster Grierson, Faraborough '■> I" Louis Oha3. Panizzardi, Parw, " merchant °v Edward Prizor, 29, Broadway, N.Y '. 2,790 Ernest M.ichaeison, Copenhagen, merchant •••■, $0 Everett Oscar Wador, 29, Broadway, N.Y. , ■' 50 Total ..-. .:.- ! 55,000 Mr. ArohlwW and Mf. Pratt have left the Board of Directors, which included in November, 1909, Mossre Everest, Case, Grierson, Prizcr, Panizzardii, Mich'ao-laon, and Mr. G'Coirgo Percy WJialcy, of 29, Broadway, Nei/ York. (ProWbly 29, Broadway, is a copyist's blunder "for 26, tho Standard home.) The Vacuum and the; Trade. One complaint which the English trade makes against the VacmiAi Oil Company is this: through; the AngloAmerican Oil Company tho Standard sells largo quantities of refined oils to British manufacturers, compounders, or blonulers of lubricants. At the same time, through the Vacuum Oil Company it goes to the customers of these linns and offers to undersell them, saying that it can supply the oils direct. A freat deal of correspondence appeared vi the "Oil and Oolorman's Journal on this subject in 1905. For example-, one correspondent told this story of his experience with the Standard. Ho waa dealing in illuminating oil, getting all his supplies from the Anglo-American Oil Conipanv. li\ 1893 his trade was 60.000 gallons per annum, then the "Anglo" sent tank waggons to his customers, and in 1903 it was less than 15,000 gallons. Wo wa,3 persuaded then to devote his attention to motorcar spirit. After ho had spent a considerable sum on bricks, concrete, iron doors, etc., for storage purpose*, the Anglo-American began delivering broadcast motor spirit to cycle ag«nts. This merchant, when he saw his kerosene trade vanishing, put up pkurfc for blending, filtering, and refining for the lubricating oil tirade. Then ho found the Wuum Oil Company underselling him with his own customers. Of course, it was quite obvious that if tdio Vacuum Oil Company could by these tactics secure the whole trade of the British lubricating oil blenders, the price of lubricants would go up uj suddenly as the prioe of kerosene always did when the Standard had killed competition. This fact wa3 pointed out Lα the trade press, and I understand that tihe Vacuum's great campaign in 1905 has not destroyed the British inakora of lubricants.

Bights Reserved.)

A gentleman connected with the lubricating trade wrote mc the other day of the latest methods of those people. The Standard shipe large quantities of oils for lubricating to the AngloAmerican by the ordinary steamship linee. In a very attractive little booklet wliich I have before mc, entitled "The Ligfht tteif Fails Not," i3suod by the Anglo-American Oil Company in 1902, it is stated tihafc their import of lubricating oil in » i«ar wad £62,000

barrels. This is now larger, and is a valuable freight, and so tlto Vacuum people go to the principal steamship ■ liiiee, aiud aay, "Wβ give you this freight; you must lot uh lubricate your boats in return." Tho result is that the freight which tho English niakor of lubricants pays on wliafc ho buys from the "Anglo" ia used to securo business far his trade rivals, who are undercutting Jiim with owners oftfiKinrs. This may bo the American idea of "busin>oßß," but it will take a great deal of acclimatising hero, and the Vacuum is not growing in popularity. Vacuum on Tramways. But the Vacuum docs not always undersoil. Complaint is made that in some of the largo tramway undortakings, especially municipal ones, no other lubricant but the Vacuum oils can got 'accepted, although other oils.of equally good lubricating quality can bo and aro produoed by British firms at lower prices than tho Vacuum obtains. The reason for this phenomenon is simply that the. engineers in chairge of tho plants refuse to uso any ot.hor than Vacuum oils. Of course they must bo ablo to'supply a plausible reasoin for this to tiheir superiors, and such an explanation is provided in the "Official Circular" of the Tramways and Light Railways' Association for April and May, 1905. This "Circular" reports a paper read at a meeting of tho Association on April 28, 1905, by Mr. William E. Parish, Jim., chief technical export of tho Vacuum Oil Company, on "-Friction as Affected by Lubrication." Tho keyjioto, of Mr. Parish's paper may. probably be found iv thoso lines:— It is possible to exactly duplicate a fine 'lubricating oil on the basis of chemical tests with an improperlymaaiufaeturcd article.. Tho results from th# rise of botdi oils, while the chemical readings show they are exactly the same, are widely different when applied to actual work. Translated into plain English this means that the lubricants supplied by the. Vacuum's competitors (manufactured out of the Standard Oil Trust's own oils) aire by every recognised chemical test as good as theirs, but yet that it is right and proper that the engineer who actually uses the lubricants on the machinery should prefer the Vacuum oils —a very satisfactory doctrine for both the Vacuum Company and the engineer 1 Further on in his paper, Mr. Parish was good enough to give various tables and experiments relating to what he called. A full efficiency test of a textile mill whero an effort is being made to reduce the total horse-power by moans of applying lubricants more suited to the work than the oile in use. That means, in plain English, by applying Vacuum oils, whose chemical readings ano exactly the same as tho&o of tihoir competitors, and whose virtues can only bo discovered by tho engineer. In the debate- on. tho paper I notice that Mir. W. Scott Tapgart, while congratulating Mr.' 'Parish on his paper, lot fall this Very'valuable observation: I must say there is only on© thing that spoils these tests for a society like this or any other society of a scientific character, and it is that these tests are all mad© by a person or an engineer responsible to the oil company making them. I think they would bo of much greater value if carried oub by some unprejudiced engineer. (To be continued.}