Page:The Rise And Progress Of The Standard Oil Company.djvu/12

 THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY The rise and progress of the Standard Oil Cpmpahy, from its inception in 1865 till its control, in 1878, of ninety -five per cent, of the oil business of the United States, has presented itself to different critics in somewhat different characters; ’certain conservative writers think it was largely the result of discriminations in freight rates, extorted ‘by more or less questionable practices from the easy virtue of the railroads. But just why the rail- roads found it expedient to grant such unusual favors, and why this particular