Rockefeller & competition - George Rice Reading
George Rice on Railroad Rates & Rebates
For twenty years, George Rice attempted to remain in the refining business despite what he claimed was a determined effort by Rockefeller to wipe out his business. In 1899, George Rice was called to testify before the US Industrial Commission. Sections of that testimony - much of it corroborated in independent investigations - are quoted below:
“I am a citizen of the US, born in Vermont, and have been refining oil for some 20 years. My business had been shut down for three years now, due to the methods that the Standard Oil Trust used to jack up my freight rates. I have been driven from pillar to post, from one railroad line to another, in a vain attempt to get fair railroad rates from Standard Oil Trust, which I have been utterly unable to do. Consequently, I had to shut down with my business absolutely ruined and my refinery idle. I have done my best to stay in business…”
“With their unlawfully acquired monopoly, Standard Oil Trust could cut customer’s prices temporarily and sell to them below their costs. This they could easily do, and thus effectively wipe out all competition. Standard Oil’s prices were generally so high that I could sell my goods at 2 to 3 cents a gallon below their prices and make a good profit. But, I could not match their price cutting on my customers’ goods, because unlike them, I had no other areas to make profits while losing money for the purposes of driving out competition…”
“Do not just accept my word for it…Allow me to read to you from a federal court’s decision: “It appears that Standard Oil Company and George Rice were competitors in the business of refining oil… It further appears that Standard wished to “crush” Rice and his business. Under the threat of building a pipeline to carry its oil, Standard was able to force the railroad to charge Rice 35 cents a barrel and Standard only 10 cents…”...Furthermore, Rockefeller made threats to my agents who were buying my oil…”
For twenty years, George Rice attempted to remain in the refining business despite what he claimed was a determined effort by Rockefeller to wipe out his business. In 1899, George Rice was called to testify before the US Industrial Commission. Sections of that testimony - much of it corroborated in independent investigations - are quoted below:
“I am a citizen of the US, born in Vermont, and have been refining oil for some 20 years. My business had been shut down for three years now, due to the methods that the Standard Oil Trust used to jack up my freight rates. I have been driven from pillar to post, from one railroad line to another, in a vain attempt to get fair railroad rates from Standard Oil Trust, which I have been utterly unable to do. Consequently, I had to shut down with my business absolutely ruined and my refinery idle. I have done my best to stay in business…”
“With their unlawfully acquired monopoly, Standard Oil Trust could cut customer’s prices temporarily and sell to them below their costs. This they could easily do, and thus effectively wipe out all competition. Standard Oil’s prices were generally so high that I could sell my goods at 2 to 3 cents a gallon below their prices and make a good profit. But, I could not match their price cutting on my customers’ goods, because unlike them, I had no other areas to make profits while losing money for the purposes of driving out competition…”
“Do not just accept my word for it…Allow me to read to you from a federal court’s decision: “It appears that Standard Oil Company and George Rice were competitors in the business of refining oil… It further appears that Standard wished to “crush” Rice and his business. Under the threat of building a pipeline to carry its oil, Standard was able to force the railroad to charge Rice 35 cents a barrel and Standard only 10 cents…”...Furthermore, Rockefeller made threats to my agents who were buying my oil…”
