This  arrangement,  says  Miss  Tarbell,  in  her  "History  of
the  Standard  Oil  Company," 8  gave  the  oil  corporation
"steady  transportation  the  year  round  to  the  seaboard,
at  a  rate  cheaper  than  anybody  else  could  get.  It  was
equivalent  to  renting  a  railroad  for  their  private  use.
Every  Cleveland  refiner  was  put  out  of  the  race.  The
refining  business  was  so  prosperous  at  the  time  the  arrange-
ment was  made  that  suspicion  was  not  at  first  aroused,
but  in  a  year's  time  the  effect  became  apparent.  Firms
which  had  been  making  $10,000  to  $20,000  a  year,  found

1  Testimony  of  Mr.  Alexander  before  the  Committee  on  Commerce  of
the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  April,  1872.  See  "  History  of
the  Standard  Oil  Company,"  by  Ida  Tarbell,  Chaps.  II,  III.
*  Chap.  III.
