THE GROWTH OF COMPETITION AMONG THE STANDARD OIL COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 1911-1961.

In 1911, one of the most significant United States anti-trust decisions resulted in the dissolution of the Standard Oil trust, which had dominated the oil industry of the United States since the 1870s. A half century later, eight of the original members of the trust ranked among the eighteen largest oil companies in the nation. This paper traces the development of these companies which emerged from the trust, showing the growth of competition as they expanded their marketing areas beyond the territories originally assigned to them under the trust agreement, and came into direct competition with one another. The tactics employed to gain and maintain this dominance, together with the mere size of the group, aroused public animosity, which in turn led to various attempts to curb its power. In 1892, the Ohio courts ruled that the original charter of the Standard Oil Company (Ohio) did not allow it to operate under a trust agreement. As a result, the trust was abandoned in favor of a less formal "community of interest" arrangement. But this arrangement had disadvantages, and some of the member companies came under legal attack. Accordingly, in 1892 the group established a holding company structure. The charter of the largest member of the group, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, was broadened to permit it to become the primary holding company, and its name was changed to Standard Oil Company (New Jersey).