Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 31

Author: Babcock, Charles A.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages:

USA > Pennsylvania > Venango County > Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1) > Part 31

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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VENANGO COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

ent States are represented, the Western Pe- troleum Refiners Association likewise compris- ing an influential membership.

OIL EXCHANGES ENTER AND EXIT

"Pipe line certificates afforded an excellent medium for speculation, owing to violent fluc- tuations in prices of the commodity they rep- resented. Oil exchanges were established at Oil City, Titusville, Parker, Bradford, Pitts- burgh, New York, Philadelphia and elsewhere. Bulls and bears reveled in excitement, brokers had customers in every quarter of the country, and the clearances in one year exceeded eleven billion barrels. The herald of these institutions was 'The Curbstone Exchange' at Oil City in 1870, in front of Lockhart, Frew & Co.'s of- fice, Center street, near the railroad track. Pro- ducers, dealers and speculators would congre- gate on the sidewalks, discuss the situation, swap stories and buy or sell oil. Trades were made in offices, at wells, on streets, anywhere and everywhere. Purchasers for Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Philadelphia refiners started brokerage in 1868, on a commission of ten cents a barrel from buyers and five from sell- ers. The Farmers' railroad, completed to Oil City in 1867, brought so many operators to town that a car was assigned them, in which they bought and sold 'spot,' 'regular' and 'fu- ture oil.' There were no certificates, no writ- ten obligations, no margins to bind a bargain, but everything was done on honor and no man's word was broken. 'Spot oil' was to be moved and paid for at once, 'regular' allowed the buyer ten days to put the oil on the cars, and 'future' was taken as agreed upon mutual- ly. Large lots frequently changed hands in this car, really the first oil exchange. The busi- ness increased, an exchange on wheels had manifest disadvantages, and in December of 1869 it was decided to effect a per- manent organization. Officers were elected and a room was rented on Center street. It removed to the Sands block in 1871, to the Opera House block in January of 1872 and to a temporary shed in the fall, when South Improvement complications dissolved the or- ganization. For about fifteen months hotels, streets, or offices sufficed for accommodations. In February of 1864 the exchange was reor- ganized, with George V. Forman as president, and occupied quarters in the 'Collins House' four years. Gradually rules were adopted and methods introduced that brought about the system afterward in vogue. In April of 1878 the formal opening of the splendid Oil Ex- 10

change building took place. The structure con- tained offices, committee rooms, telegraph lines, reading rooms and all conveniences for its members. F. W. Mitchell & Co. inaugurated the advancing of money on certificates, their bank's transactions in this line ranging from one to four million dollars a day. The appli- cation of the clearing-house system in 1882 simplified the routine and facilitated deliv- eries. The volume of business was immense, the clearances often amounting to ten or fifteen million barrels a day. Only the New York and the San Francisco stock exchanges sur- passed it. During fluctuations the galleries would be packed with men and women who had 'taken a flyer' and watched the antics of the bulls and bears intently. Fortunes were gained and lost. Many a 'lamb' was shorn and many a 'duck' lamed. It was a raging fever, a delirium of excitement, compressing years of ordinary anxiety and haste into a week. Now the exchange is a theater and speculative trade in oil is dead."

The following account of the Oil City Ex- change, by Maj. J. M. Reed, of Oil City, is ap- propriately introduced here :

"THE OIL EXCHANGE is the perfection of petroleum transfers which began with its sale as a crude medicine by the Indians and pio- neers of Venango county. The real traffic be- gan in August, 1859, by buying at the wells when the price was twenty dollars a barrel. The stupendous production of 1860-61, be- fore an unformed demand, brought it down to ten cents a barrel in January, 1862, and for several years, until the foreign demand was created and the business systematized, prices were subject to frequent and formidable fluc- tuations. This of course was a flame that at- tracted fierce speculation, and the oil dealer became as much of a fixture as the lumber dealer.

"For the first five years the dealer or specu- lator bought the oil at the well, in the barrel, on the boat, in bulk, at the wharves, in the warehouses up and down the river and Oil creek, anywhere, but chiefly at the warehouses in the Third ward. Any change in the New York market was the signal for the oil dealer to race up the creek on horseback to buy up or unload as his interest dictated, and often the result was heavy loss. Then the oil exchange was on horseback; this was so until 1867, at the completion of the Oil Creek and Farmers' railroads between Oil City and Titusville, the right of way for which was only obtained on condition that every oil farm should have a depot at which passenger trains should stop.

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Then the passenger cars became the exchange, but very soon a special oil men's car was se- cured to run independently of passenger trains. For two or three years this car was the scene of transactions involving millions, and the bulls and bears were quite as excitable on wheels as in their later quarters.

"Telegraph and better transportation made it unnecessary to go out of the city by 1869, and in December of that year a meeting was held in Owston & Sower's office for the first organization of an exchange. In 1870 room was secured in the Atlantic & Pacific Telegraph Company's office, at the railroad crossing on Center street, but as these quarters were too small a room was fitted up in the Sands block, now the "Central Hotel." This was burned in January, 1872, and a room in the opera house was used, together with summer quar- ters in a shed erected near the Empire Line offices, now the Blizzard office. In 1873 sev- eral causes combined to prevent the continu- ance of the organization, notably the South Improvement Company excitement.

"Feb. 4, 1874, a meeting was held at the 'Collins House,' William Hasson, chairman, and J. T. Leech, secretary, and fifty-five per- sons organized the Oil City Oil Exchange with George V. Forman, president ; A. J. Green- field, vice president; J. T. Leech, secretary ; John Mawhinney, treasurer. They secured rooms in the 'Collins House' and on April 29th following were regularly incorporated by a State charter. They began with the old rules, and discipline and system were slowly adopt- ed. At first business began any time and closed any time, but the rules were constantly re- vised and improved, so that in a short time this exchange controlled the markets of the world.

"In 1877 a new building was agitated and a building committee appointed, composed of Messrs. William Hasson, A. J. Greenfield, Wil- liam Parker and John Mawhinney. The site chosen was the block facing east on Seneca, between Center and Sycamore streets, and the work was begun in July under the personal supervision of Architect J. M. Budge, of Mead- ville, who had planned the Derrick block ; the contract was let to Carpenter & Company of Meadville, the building alone to cost sixty-five thousand dollars. A fine brick, sixty by one hundred feet, and three stories above the base- ment, slowly arose and was completed April 20, 1878, ready for the grand opening on the 23d. This was a great day for Oil City, and the galleried exchange room, with its bull-ring directly under the dome, and its surrounding

telegraph offices and rooms, were crowded even to overflow through the main entrance open- ing on Center, Seneca and Sycamore streets, to listen to the speeches of President Green- field and others. At two o'clock in the after- noon the clang of the bell let loose the well known pandemonium of the first trades, among which were the following: J. J. Fisher, one thousand barrels at $1.271/2, to C. W. McClin- tock; S. Ames, one thousand, at the same, to Frank Mitchell ; G. S. Morgan, one thousand, at the same, to J. H. Dixon; and H. V. Sikes, one thousand at $1.2818, to A. Kelly. Before closing 145,000 barrels were sold, ranging from $1.2678 to $1.2938, and all opened well for the exchange, which was then the third in the United States and the first in the oil trade, with a membership of three hundred.

"The chief improvements afterward added were the opening of a clearing house Oct. 17, 1882, under the management of J. M. Reed. the clearings for which in 1885 aggregated $1,433,738,000, and the erection of an annex in 1883 almost equal in size to the original building, and supplying parlors, smoking rooms, offices, etc. The entire cost of the whole enterprise has amounted to nearly $100,- 000. The membership now embraces about one hundred and forty, about twenty-five of whom, it is estimated, are brokers. The offi- cers have been as follows :

"1874-George V. Forman, president; A. J. Greenfield, vice president; J. T. Leech, secre- tary ; and John Mawhinney, treasurer.

"In 1875 P. H. Judd became secretary, and in 1876 J. M. McElroy was chosen vice presi- dent.

"1877-A. J. Greenfield, president; H. L. Foster, vice president; J. B. Smithman, sec- retary ; and John Mawhinney, treasurer.

"1878 -- Only change J. T. Jones, vice presi- dent, and C. P. Stephenson, secretary.

"1879-H. L. Foster, president; C. N. Payne, vice president; H. L. McCance, sec- retary, John Mawhinney, treasurer.

"1880-T. A. Mclaughlin became vice presi- dent.

"1881-No changes.

"1882-T. A. Mclaughlin, president; W. D. Archbold, vice president ; O. C. Sherman, treasurer, and H. L. McCance, secretary.

"1883-H. L. Foster, president ; George Heard, vice president ; R. T. Leech, secretary ; O. C. Sherman, treasurer.

"1884 -- I. M. Sowers became vice president.

"1885-W. H. Choate, treasurer.

"1886-W. W. Nicholas, vice president.

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"Present officials are: E. V. D. Selden, president; J. M. Reed, vice president; W. H. Wise, secretary and treasurer.

"A whirl of business in 1895 carried the price of oil up to $2.70 per barrel, and during three or four months of extreme activity the bulk of the oil extant was absorbed by large interests, the business gradually subsiding un- til only a nominal market was maintained. The last trade in the public market of the Oil Ex- change was made in 1904. A few years later, 1908. the real estate of the corporation was sold and the proceeds distributed to the stockhold- ers, leaving a small fund for maintenance of the organization, which retained a room for ten years by agreement of sale. This ten years expires Dec. 31, 1918, and it is probable. that the affairs of the corporation will be wound up and charter surrendered, thus ending the ca- reer of the first oil exchange in existence."

The Oil City Derrick of Thursday morning, Dec. 5, 1918, contained an interesting "trib- ute" to the Oil City Oil Exchange by a veteran member, Mr. J. J. McLaurin, of Oil City, which we reprint with permission :

THE OIL CITY OIL EXCHANGE

A THANKSGIVING TRIBUTE ON MY BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY TO THE TWO HUNDRED MEMBERS OF THE FAMOUS ORGANIZATION WHEN THE BUILDING WAS ERECTED IN 1877-8, NINE TENTHS OF THEM MY PER- SONAL FRIENDS, THE MAJORITY NOW DEAD AND MOST OF THE GALAXY NAMED IN THE STANZAS, WHICH ARE DEDICATED WITH BEST WISHES TO THE SURVIVORS.

BY JOHN J. McLAURIN

From a shallow hole on Oil Creek pour'd a tiny greenish stream,

Of developments the basis far surpassing Pharaoh's dream;

Fifty-nine years have departed since the pregnant August morn

That Drake's well hit viscid fluid and oil industry was born;

Nations sat up and took notice of the wonderful fresh birth

Speedily to distance cotton, light and heat and grease the earth.

Difficulties at the outset block'd the operator's path, Boats and wagons freighting barrels meant profanity and wrath;

With unfathomable quagmires and no car-wheels to revolve,

How to get the stuff to market was a problem hard to solve,

Till the pipe-lines furnish'd transport at the mini- mum cost,

Relegating primal methods to the realm of labor lost.

Laying ground for bigger business, the Oil City Oil Exchange

Was established to give dealings in certificates free range ;

Men of character and capital were leaders in the move

That soon put petroleum trades and traders in the upper groove-

Men who saw a broader vision, estimated to an inch

What would meet the situation and relieve the stringent pinch.

Proper officers were needed to ensure a proper start :

President was George V. Forman, master of the pipe-line art,

Tactful, competent, resourceful, foremost spirit of his peers-

Greenfield, Tom Mclaughlin, Foster, Selden came in later years;

R. T. Leech was Secretary-neither mind nor phy- sique small;

Treasurer, bluff John Mawhinney, fit like paper on the wall.

Leech H. L. McCance succeeded-Thomas Nast of Oildom he,

Clever, capable cartoonist of the thirty-third de- gree;

Smithman, Fairchild had a flyer and Mcclintock took the place,

Overseeing all departments with rare diligence and grace ;

Linking courtesy and frankness, caring less for fads and cults

Than for practical attainments, all were experts on results.

You recall, 'mong early members of the era long gone by,

Allen, Avery, Tom Adams, Austin, Ames, Crouch, Charlie Bly,

Arnold, Barrow, Beaumonts, Boultons, Bonham, Bumstead, Ossenbeck,

Bradley, Brocklehurst, Clotworthy, Dave Davinney, George Banvleck,

Ash, Brown, Cochrans, Culver, Graham, Tom Ca- ruthers, John R. Drum,

T. B. Porteous, Al Williams, Charlie Shepherd, Charlie Thumm?

Also Babcock, James B. Berry, Bolard, Dixon, Dou- bleday,

Cary, Cornwall, Criswell, Cooper, Diman, Hotch- kiss, E. B. Gray,

Haldeman, John Gracie, Johnsons, Hayward, Kemp, Goldsborough, Huff,

George E. Foster, I. S. Gibson, Finley, Hays, Haines, Hackett, Brough,

Ellis Harris, Hawkins, Hilton, Hopkins, Houard, William White,

Hulsman, Heard, Abe Irwin, Merchant, Foley, Fro- thingham, Frank Wright?

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There were numerous top-notchers, brand of J. J. Jimmy Young, McCray, Buchanan, John Barr, New- Vandergrift,

Forman, Hasson, Beers, Gilfillan, H. L. Foster, Mitchells, Swift,

Joseph Bushnell, William Parker, Wesley Chambers, Joseph Seep,

J. T. Jones, O'Day, Suhr, Scheide, never at the switch asleep ;

Opportunity came knocking and they held it with firm grip,

When the water was alluring plung'd for a success- ful dip.

Kindred spirits were not lacking, positive as "eggs is eggs,"

William Innis, Seldens, Frasers, Simpsons, Tom Mc- Connell, Beggs,

Peter Schreiber, A. J. Greenfield, Reed, McLaugh- lin, Cal. N. Payne,

William Archbold, John McCollum, Fishers, Goet- tels, C. E. Main,

Charlie Owston, I. M. Sowers, O. F. Schonblom, Ru- dolph Schalk,

Isaac Reineman, James Sheakley, who knew no such deed as balk.

There were dynamos in trousers, word as good as bond or pledge,

Never tried to shirk a promise, never sought to dodge nor hedge;

R. R. Richardson, George Harley, Clarks, Fink, Justus, Charlie Ball,

H. R. Blackmarr, William Thompson, William Lec- key, John Munhall,

Bettis, Jimmy Lowe, Mike Keating, Melville, Steven- son, Frank Tack,

Porterfield, Tedcastle, Naly, ne'er to friend nor foe turn'd back.

Other live-wires had their entry, who would win in any line;

Hannas, Hukills, Leo Milton, Pinkerton, Sikes, Ajax Kline,

T. P. Miller, Preston, Rogers, Wheeler, Howe, Clint Roudebush,

Jayne, Sam Blakely, Bod C. Collins, full of stamina and push,

Billy Nicholas, Nate Bushnell, H. M. Hughes, Mike Lowentritt,'

Hendricks, Nicholsons, John Eaton, ever prompt to do their bit.

Royal blend of Mocha-Java, always tun'd to concert pitch,

C. H. Duncan, Colbert, Campbell, Comer, Connor, John S. Rich,

Tom R. Cowell, Creighton, Kinter, Culbertson, Wade Hampton, Conn,

Hepburn, Smithman, Walters, Whitney, thorough- breds to bet upon,

Willoughby, John Wallace, Stebbins, Moorehead, Sherman, M. M. Mount,

Reynolds, Sweet, Hi Whiting, Taylors, Leedom, Porters swell the count.

Yet the list is not exhausted, many a remember'd name

Might be added to the roster of the fascinating game;

William Shreve, VanVelsor, Maxwell, J. A. Weible, Joseph Bates,

Dan Moran, J. O. R. Wilson, Choate, McCarty, tip- top mates;

man, Pullman, Shank,

Waugh, Cadwallader, Mckinley, sound as money in the bank.

After various migrations, the committee chose a lot- Seneca, Sycamore, Centre bounded the selected plot ; Meadville Carpenters contracted to erect a building quick,

Sixty-one feet by one hundred, three tall stories of red brick;

On the twenty-third of April, eighteen seventy-and- eight

It was duly dedicated-credit to the Keystone State.

Next forenoon the doors were ope'd to begin a lively scene-

Let the picture for a moment film once more upon the screen;

Note the host of yelling demons and the jargon of their tongues,

The fierce tumult and the shouting indicating healthy lungs ;

Six telegraphers of merit harness the electric click, Nimble messengers rush wildly and deliveries are slick.

John J. Fisher's piercing treble, rising high above the din,

First consignment on the record to McClintock passes in ;

Spry Sam Justus picks up options, Parker sells to O. H. Strong,

Archbold trots with Archie Fraser, Blakely tip 'em short or long,

Davy Laughlin and Mclaughlin compass an impor- tant deal,

L. T. Lamberton buys largely for Fos Mitchell and Frank Steele.

Payne hands Lowentritt a bundle, Nicholas is in the swim,

Lowe serves customers by dozens, bet no flies alight on him;

Waugh & Hilton buy from Milton, Wheeler has a wad to sell,

Whitney's whit would load a jitney, Hays and Weller well up well;

George P. Hukill and Tom Simpson total an enor- mous score,

While Dan Goettel hails George Lewis: "Make it 50,000 more?"

P. H. Judd and George S. Morgan don't misjudge a juicy chance,

Foster fosters a fat contract, Collins caroms with McCance,

Tommy Hackett helps the racket, Pullman pulls a car of chink,

Dick Conn and Sam Hanna dicker, Pinkerton hob- nobs with Fink,

Live Jack Goettel shows his mettle, Harry Sweet is on the job,

B. F. Brundred lands 'steen hundred, Cornwall finds corn on the cob.

Naly nails a tempting morsel, Hampton trains with Noah Clark,

Hawkins is no idle hawker, Howe and Hotchkiss toe the mark,

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Porterfield and Greenfield bargain, O. C. Sherman wins a trump,

H. I. Beers and William Scheide are not squatting on a stump,

Kemp and Henry Harley parley, Charlie Cooper makes a scoop,

And Tom Nicholson coins nickels on a merry loop- the-loop.

William S. McMullan, Sumner, Lee, Kilgore fit close, Joseph Oberly, Joe Manning and Joe Walcott look jocose,

Lewises, Dick Longwell, Hallet, Walker, Plumer, A. P. Dale,

Walter Siverly, Potts, Robbins, John P. Zane, Roess hit the trail;

Overy, Darr, Layman, Wyman, William Purse, Ben Smith, Tom King,

J. M. McElroy, Trax, Weaver group around the centre ring.

Jim Mawhinney and Davinney try a shinny in the whirl,

Mike McCarty, stout and hearty, is a party in the swirl;

Keen spectators shove in orders, the excitement is intense,

The confusion baffles Babel and transactions are im- mense ;

Transfers foot up tens of millions, gamely distancing New York,

But the wheels are lubricated and the craft sails like a cork.

John B. Smithman first suggested and was first to introduce

Model Clearing-House arrangement, now in uni- versal use;

He, with John M. Reed assisting, drew a sample balance-sheet,

Bankers all endors'd the system and its triumph was complete;

Titusville, Manhattan, Pittsburgh, Parker voted it worth while,

San Francisco, London, Paris soon adopted the new style.

Labor-saving to a finish, it caught on to beat the "Au"_

Let the author and its birthplace gladly have the honor due;

Thus will Smithman and Oil City not be missing on the page

Of oil history and movements at the speculative stage;

"Tribute to whom tribute" is a maxim that deserves respect,

Tho', alas, too often treated with contemptuous neglect.

Tho' you ransack ev'ry corner, tho' you auto near and far,

Go Methuselah one better, hitch your airplane to a star,

You will never see repeated days like gala days of old,

Never see a band of hustlers cast in a more perfect mould,

Never witness a recurrence of the gilt edge age of oil,

Never witness tireless traders in so strict accord with Hoyle.

They might differ in religion, disagree in politics,

But they valued rigid honor, sat down hard on measly tricks,

Spent their money like hail fellows, heeded Poverty's sad pleas,

Set the shyster and the tightwad with the yellow curs and fleas ;

"Render Caesar's things to Caesar" was their unfor- gotten rule,

Manly principle to practice even with the two- leg'd mule.

Sturdy as Gibraltar fortress, unafraid of snags and rocks.

Not a few had graduated from The College of Hard Knocks;

Most had plenty pep and ginger, knew the ten-spot from the ace,

Took nobody's dust in business and were sprinters in the race;

All attended church on Sunday, and felt blissfully content

To have God run His creation without asking their assent.

The whole bunch were dandy mixers, in society stood pat,

Ready for a trade or frolic at the dropping of the hat,

Read the Bible and the Derrick, had no taste for empty froth,

Made the best of circumstances, cut the coat to suit the cloth,

Studied markets, baseball, science, classics, comics, singletax,

And were not averse to poker when they wanted to relax.

Yardwide legion of the region, sixteen ounces to the pound,

Plucky, hopeful and ambitious, splendid folks to have around,

Loyal to the spangled banner, trusting God and Uncle Sam,

Marching in the forward column, hating fuss and fume and sham,

They fulfill'd their obligations, from a duty would not shrink,

Nor had conscientious scruples when invited for a drink.

Matters were progressing finely, with no sign of a simoon

That would end the institution in its fructifying bloom ;

Standard notified one morning: "We will fix crude's daily rate

And discard outside quotations on and after such a date"_

Gone Othello's occupation, 'twas a wide rift in the lute,

Oil Exchanges put up shutters and the bulls and bears are mute-

Where the gay and festive brokers had their barter and their sport-

What a fall is there, my country !- now a movie holds the fort;

And the lads have scatter'd widely, to the north, south, east and west,

Death has reap'd a heavy harvest of the bravest and the best-

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For the grim, relentless reaper has all seasons for his own,

And the snows of many winters over many graves have blown.

Some have settled in Chicago, Denver, Omaha, Duluth,

Some in Florida are testing Ponce de Leon's Fount of Youth,

Some are factors in production, in refining numbers shine,

Some are filling city pulpits, some are delving in the mine;

But no odds what home or calling, juggling pen or pick or drill,

Loving thoughts of old Venango bring a soul-reviv- ing thrill.

It is pleasant to remember, since the weary years have fled,

Forms and faces once familiar and the happiness they shed;

Feel once more their joyous presence and its stimu- lating glow,

Hear their voices in the bustle and the songs of long ago-

Listen to their bids and offers, "Dixie," "Hot Time," "Home, Sweet Home,"

With a dash to back Caruso and McCormack off the dome.

Over Here the ranks are thinning and are bulging Over There,

Steadily recruits are stepping to ascend the Golden Stair ;

In the course of mortal nature, it must shortly come about

That the last surviving member will be greeted with a shout ;

When the boys all land in Heaven, it will certainly be strange,

If each swaps no reminiscence of Oil City's Oil Exchange.

Continuing the quotation from the Derrick Industrial Number of Dec. 15, 1917:

"Parker had a lively oil exchange when the Armstrong and Butler fields were at their height. The most prominent men in specula- . tive trade lived in the town or were represent- ed in the exchange. A jollier, bigger-hearted crowd of fellows than the members of the Parker Exchange never played a practical joke nor helped a poor sufferer out of 'a deuce of a fix.' The Bradford Oil Exchange started on Jan. 1, 1883, with five hundred members and a $40,000 building. Five hundred others organ- ized the Producers' Petroleum Exchange and erected a spacious brick block, occupying it on Jan. 2. 1884. Both have subsided and the buildings are stores and offices. Titusville's handsome exchange, on the site of the 'Amer- ican Hotel,' has gone the same road. Captain Vandergrift built the Pittsburgh Oil Exchange, the finest of them all, fitting it up superbly. A bank and offices have succeeded the festive

dealers in crude. From the Mining Stock Ex- change, the Miscellaneous Security Board and several more of similar types the New York Consolidated Stock and Petroleum Exchange developed a huge concern, with two thousand four hundred members and a lordly building. erected in 1887, on Broadway and Exchange Place. The membership was the largest of the country, with the exception of the Produce Exchange, and the business in oil at times ex- ceeded the transactions of the Stock Exchange. Charles G. Wilson was president from the or- ganization of the Petroleum and Stock Board, which absorbed the National Petroleum Ex- change and in 1885 adopted the elongated name that burdened it for years. Philadelphia had an exchange of lesser degree and a score of oil region towns sharpened their appetite for spec- ulation by establishing branch concerns and bucket shops. Since the elimination of ex- changes producers generally sell their oil in the shape of credit balances. For their conven- ience the Standard Oil Company established purchasing agencies throughout the region, un- der the capable management of Joseph Seep, with headquarters at Oil City. The quantity of crude to the credit of the seller on the pipe line books is ascertained from the office, a check is given and all the trouble the producer has is to draw his money from the bank. The decision of the Standard to buy from producers without regard to exchange quotations sent speculation in crude to the junk pile.

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Venango County, Pennsylvania: Her Pioneers and People (Volume 1), Part 31

Author: Babcock, Charles A. Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Number of Pages:

Author: Babcock, Charles A.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: