Page:The History of the Standard Oil Company Vol 2.djvu/32

 part of their oil at this time from Adnah Neyhart. Now, sometime in 1875, as we have seen, Mr. Neyhart began to feel the Standard pressure and his business was sold to the Standard. Again Ayres, Lombard and Company found a large part of their supply of oil cut off. For about a year they shipped over the Pennsylvania. It was not long, however, before the concern found that even on the Pennsylvania they were under a disadvantage, that road having made in 1875 discriminating contracts with the Standard. Again the firm changed, buying its oil from J. A. Bostwick and Company of New York. Now Bostwick was the Standard Oil buyer, one of the original South Improvement Company, and a stockholder in the Standard Oil Company. Mr. Lombard swore that he had not been taking oil of Bostwick for more than a year before the Standard began to draw its lines around him, as he put it, and again the question arose how were they to get oil for their refinery. There seemed no way but to try to make a contract with the Pennsylvania Company. On the 18th of May, 1877, he went to Philadelphia and saw Colonel Potts, who told him he would be glad to have his shipments on the Pennsylvania. Accordingly a contract was made for a year, the company guaranteeing them as low a rate as anybody else had. But this contract of Mr. Lombard was destined to end as speedily and as disastrously as all of those he had been making for over five years, for in the fall of the year the Empire Line was sold to the Standard, and in the spring of 1878, when Mr. Lombard's contract ran out, the Pennsylvania refused to renew it on the terms they gave the Standard. Mr. Lombard gave a very interesting account of the interview he and his fellow refiners of New York had with Mr. Cassatt in reference to this matter:

"In March, 1878, I think it was by appointment, we had an interview with Mr. Cassatt, third vice-president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. There were present Mr. Bush, Mr. Gregory, Mr. Burke, Mr. Ohlen, and myself, besides Mr. Cassatt. It