None of us ever dreamed of the magnitude of what proved to be the later expansion.  We did our day’s work as we met it, looking forward to what we could see in the distance and keeping well up to our opportunities, but laying our foundations firmly.  As I have said, capital was most difficult to secure, and it was not easy to interest conservative men in this adventurous business.  Men of property were afraid of it, though in rare cases capitalists were induced to unite with us to a limited extent.  If they bought our stock at all, they took a little of it now and then as an experiment, and we were painfully conscious that they often declined to buy new stock with many beautiful expressions of appreciation.

The enterprise being so new and novel, on account of the fearfulness of certain holders in reference to its success, we frequently had to take stock to keep it from going begging, but we had such confidence in the fundamental value of the concern that we were willing to assume this risk.  There are always a few men in an undertaking of this kind who would risk all on their judgment of the final result, and if the enterprise had failed, these would have been classed as visionary adventurers, and perhaps with good reason.

The 60,000 men who are at work constantly in the service of the company are kept busy year in and year out.  The past year has been a time of great contraction, but the Standard has gone on with its plans unchecked, and the new works and buildings have not been delayed on account of lack of capital or fear of bad times.  It pays its workmen well, it cares for them when sick, and pensions them when old.  It has never had any important strikes, and if there is any better function of business management than giving profitable work to employees year after year, in good times and bad, I don’t know what it is.

Another thing to be remembered about this so-called “octopus” is that there has been no “water” introduced into its capital (perhaps we felt that oil and water would not have mixed); nor in all these years has any one had to wait for money which the Standard owed.  It has suffered from great fires and losses, but it has taken care of its affairs in such a way that it has not found it necessary to appeal to the general public to place blocks of bonds or stock; it has used no underwriting syndicates or stock-selling schemes in any form, and it has always managed to finance new oil field operations when called upon.

It is a common thing to hear people say that this company has crushed out its competitors.  Only the uninformed could make such an assertion.  It has and always has had, and always will have, hundreds of active competitors; it has lived only because it has managed its affairs well and economically and with great vigour.  To speak of competition for a minute:  Consider not only the able people who compete in refining oil, but all the competition in the various trades which make and sell by-products—­a