The Trust

The following is the preface of a book published in 1904.
The History of the Standard Oil Company

By a woman journalist, I would like to add --
by Ida M. Tarbell

A stamp just came out commemorating her.
(I didn't know, by the way, that The Atlantic was 120 years old! This was published in it's early rival McClure's).



I am going to work on reading different parts of it this week and excerpt, I think. I'm fascinated -- by the history, by the writing by the glimpse into current thought in 1904... and today.


This work is the outgrowth of an effort on the part of the editors of McClure's Magazine to deal concretely in their pages with the trust question. In order that their readers might have a clear and succinct notion of the processes by which a particular industry passes from the control of the many to that of the few, they decided a few years ago to publish a detailed narrative of the history of the growth of a particular trust. The Standard Oil Trust was chosen for obvious reasons. It was the first in the field, and it has furnished the methods, the charter, and the traditions for its followers. It is the most perfectly developed trust in existence; that is, it satisfies most nearly the trust ideal of entire control of the commodity in which it deals. Its vast profits have led its officers into various allied interests, such as railroads, shipping, gas, copper, iron, steel, as well as into banks and trust companies, and to the acquiring and solidifying of these interests it has applied the methods used in building up the Oil Trust. It has led in the struggle against legislation directed against combinations. Its power in state and Federal government, in the press, in the college, in the pulpit, is generally recognised. The perfection of the organisation of the Standard, the ability and daring with which it has carried out its projects, make it the pre-eminent trust of the world-the one whose story is best fitted to illuminate the subject of combinations of capital.


Let's remember, now, Standard Oil later became Exxon-Mobil. Read it again:

Exxon-Mobil was chosen for obvious reasons. It was the first in the field, and it has furnished the methods, the charter, and the traditions for its followers. It is the most perfectly developed trust in existence; that is, it satisfies most nearly the trust ideal of entire control of the commodity in which it deals. Its vast profits have led its officers into various allied interests, such as railroads, shipping, gas, copper, iron, steel, as well as into banks and trust companies, and to the acquiring and solidifying of these interests it has applied the methods used in building up the Oil Trust. It has led in the struggle against legislation directed against combinations. Its power in state and Federal government, in the press, in the college, in the pulpit, is generally recognised. The perfection of the organisation of Exxon, the ability and daring with which it has carried out its projects, make it the pre-eminent trust of the world-the one whose story is best fitted to illuminate the subject of combinations of capital.

A Woman's Name

I did not know that Condoleezza Rice had had an oil tanker named after her in 1991, while employed as an aid to the president.



I therefore, too, did not know it was renamed that same year. It just didn't look good.

In November, Chevron settled a court case and will pay $30 million dollars in fines to settle charges of illegal dealings in Iraq. According to a November AP story:

"The oil-for-food program, which ran from 1996 to 2003, was created to help Iraqis meet some basic needs under the United Nations sanctions imposed after Saadam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. The program let the Iraqi government sell oil primarily to buy humanitarian goods. It was later found that the program was often used as a means to funnel kickbacks."

This is on their website under the ethics section:

"Chevron is committed to doing business with the highest ethical standards.

Operating in a responsible and ethical manner lies at the heart of our value system and, combined with superior technology and world-class execution, underpins our success.

That responsibility starts at the top — with Dave O'Reilly, our chairman, and Peter Robertson, our vice-chairman — and is the work of every Chevron employee.

Our standards are guided by The Chevron Way, which explains who we are, what we do, what we believe and how we conduct business in a socially responsible and ethical manner. And we depend on our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Business Conduct and Ethics Code to help us make the right decisions."

Chevron is one of the 6 largest energy companies in the world; the second largest in the US. According to their website: Chevron conducts business in approximately 180 countries; they spent $16.6 billion dollars looking for energy last year; their revenues in 2006 were about $205 billion; you can buy a chevron gift card with an image from the movie Cars as a present.

I don't know -- the ties to the Bush administration -- they bother me. A lot. But you know what else is troubling me today --

-- this idea of Condeleezza Rice being named --

I don't know -- there's something about the way that it points to her being a woman -- and underscores the way that woman are seen -- and the role that even the future Secretary of State of the USA is seen in the eyes of the corporate, political and public eye --

She is not the captain of a ship, she's the mascot. The emblem. The lady to come home for. All that is feminine -- the ship the sea the earth. Those things explored, conquered, braved in the name of...

I picture her tied to the front of the bow in a white and blue flowy dress with her bossom falling out...



Furthermore, I think this may be the first time a woman's name has come up in this whole project.