Page:The History of the Standard Oil Company Vol 2.djvu/239

Rh try; by 1872 there were four connections, and freights fell in consequence. In 1866 carrying oil from the wells by pipelines was first practised with success, by 1872 all oil was gathered by pipes, thus saving the tedious and expensive operations of teaming. Tank-cars for carrying crude oil in bulk had replaced barrels and rack-cars. The iron tank, holding 20,000 barrels, was used instead of the wooden tank holding 1,000 barrels. On every side there had been economies, and because of them the margin had fallen. But not only were the expenses coming down; so were the profits. The money which had been made in refining oil had led to a rapid multiplication of refineries at all the centres. In 1872 there was a daily refining capacity of about 46,000 barrels in the coun-