RISE OF THE STANDARD OIL COMPANY 181 



this fact had much to do with the combination of refiners 

 above referred to, and which came to be known as the Stand- 

 ard 



By its economies in refining — attained as early as 1870 — 

 and in freight rates — the reward of its predominance in the 

 industry in 1872 — the Standard Oil company in 1873 escaped 

 in great measure the depression which harassed its competitors. 

 This depression, if continued, promised to be disastrous both 

 to the newly formed " alliance" and to its dwindling com- 

 petitors. In the interest of both parties, therefore, relief was 

 sought in the restriction of the oil production. Throughout 

 1873 there was a disposition on the part of the producers out- 

 side the region of the great wells to suspend operations. In 

 1874, because of the small inducement to continue, there was 

 an important shutdown in Clarion county. But these methods 

 of relief were unavailing. Throughout 1874 the weaker re- 

 fineries were forced to sell to the stronger, who reduced the 

 overproduction at once by dismantling their works, so that 

 in 1874 there were "in the oil regions proper but few refineries, 

 and those universally owned by the Standard Oil company, 

 those at Pittsburg being owned or controlled by that combi- 

 nation or by the conduit and empire fines. By its supremacy 

 in the oil regions, then, the Standard Oil company in 1874 had 

 added, to its economies in efficiency and in transportation by 

 rail, the advantage of restricting overproduction, and in the 

 period from 1874 till 1877 was ready to add the advantage of 

 controlling the pipe lines. 



In 1869 the first extended system of pipe lines — the 

 Mutual Pipe Line — was laid in Clarion county. At the same 

 time William H. Abbott and Henry Harley, with a capital 

 of $2,000,000, were organizing into the Pennsylvania Trans- 

 portation company the five hundred miles of pipe centering 

 at the Miller farm. Vandergrift & Forman were establishing 

 in Butler county a system which was later to be the nucleus 

 of the United Pipe Line system, and the American Transfer 

 company and the Empire Transportation company were form- 

 ing. Such systems, however, were rare until 1874. Most of 

 the pipe lines were scarcely ten miles long, and extended from 

 Clarion river to some common point of shipment, where stated 



