Page:The History of the Standard Oil Company Vol 2.djvu/53

 Lines and the National Transit Company were really one business, the former consisting of local lines and the other of trunk lines, and to make the organisation more compact the former was transferred to the latter on April 1, 1884. The paid-up capital of the concern at this date was $31,000,000. Just as Mr. Rockefeller claimed, in 1878, that he was "prepared to enter into a contract to refine all the petroleum that could be sold in the markets of the world," so now he could announce that he was prepared to gather, store and transport all the crude petroleum not only that the markets of the world demanded, but that the producers took from the ground. As things now stood the only remaining point where he could possibly be affected by competition was the railroads. A new relation to the railroads was created by the new development. Mr. Rockefeller was not only independent of them, he was their competitor, for, like them, he was a common carrier obliged to transport what was offered. His open rate to New York was forty-five cents, to Philadelphia forty, though the actual service probably did not cost over ten cents. By the alliance with the Tidewater any danger of competition from a pipe-line, which could of course afford to cut the price, was shut off. The railroads might possibly, however, lower the prices a little and still make a profit. It was very necessary that the price be kept up in order that too much encouragement should not be given to outside refiners. The only group which threatened to grow to large proportions, at this time, was in the Oil Regions, a group which was the direct outgrowth of the compromise of 1880. As will be remembered, the agreement with the Pennsylvania Railroad made then stipulated that all rates should be open, and that if a rebate was given to one shipper another could have it on demand. After the compromise the Pennsylvania had undertaken again to stimulate the growth of independent refineries, and several plants had been built in Titusville and Oil City. Having