Samuel Calvin Tate Dodd
Samuel Calvin Tate Dodd ( born February 20, 1836 in Franklin, Pennsylvania, † January 30, 1907 in Pinehurst, North Carolina) was an American lawyer. From 1881 to 1905 he worked for the Standard Oil Company.
Youth and Education
Samuel Dodd was the son of Levi and Julia Parker Dodd. After attending school in Franklin, he learned the printing trade at the local weekly newspaper. Later he studied at the Waterford Academy and Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania (now Washington & Jefferson College ). Back in Franklin, he taught at a school in 1857 and learned from a lawyer. 1859 Dodd received his license to practice law. In the same year, Edwin L. Drake was the first oil well in nearby Titusville.
Dodd also had a musical side. He wrote in 1860 the first poem about the crude oil, The Land of Grease, as a parody of Lord Byron's poem Isles of Greece.
In 1860 he married Mary E. Greer, with whom he had two children and died in 1873. In 1877, he married Melvina Smith, who also bore him two children.
Profession
When developed the oil industry in Pennsylvania, he was a sought-after lawyer. He wrapped up the purchase and lease contracts, knowledgeable about in company law and represented disputes before the Court in Franklin. He quickly gained a reputation in the fields of oil pioneers. In 1872 he was elected as a delegate to the Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention, where he took a leading role in some changes to the constitution of the state.
The work for Standard Oil
As Dodd in 1881 entered the service of the Standard Oil Company, he found the following location: Rockefeller had joined since the beginning of his business life with partners, because he never had enough capital alone. As he went into the oil business with a refinery, he founded the Standard Oil Company of 1870 Ohio and each of the co-founders received shares (Shares which had to remain in the company ) according to the introduced capital. Main shareholders were: John D. Rockefeller: 30%, Samuel Andrews: 16.67 % Henry Flagler: 16.67%, William Rockefeller: 13.34%, Stephen V. Harkness: 13.34%, OB Jennings ( brother of William Rockefeller ): 10%.
In 1872 he made his Cleveland Standard Refinery, the Acme Oil Company of New York ( located at Titusville ), Imperial Oil Company in Oil City, Atlantic Refining Company of Philadelphia, Camden Company of Maryland, Charles Pratt & Co. of New York, JA Bostwick & Co., Sone & Fleming Manufacturing Company, Warden, Frew & Co. of Philadelphia, and Baltimore United Oil Company of Baltimore an alliance: the Central Association of the refiner.
By 1873, Standard Oil had acquired about 80 percent of the refining capacity in Cleveland, which was approximately one-third in the United States. As the banking house of Jay Cooke & Company in Philadelphia, financier for the construction of railway lines, went bankrupt in 1873, it sparked a stock market crash and thus a recession, which lasted six years. Standard Oil was able to exploit this situation and many refineries in the oil region of Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York, standing before the bankruptcy buying. These companies were part of Standard Oil.
Standard Oil had initially focused on horizontal integration (ie at the same stage of production) by gaining control over other oil refineries. But then soon showed the need for vertical integration (that is, to other stages of production and distribution ), mainly due to the acquisition of pipelines, railroad tank cars, terminal facilities and oil drums - manufacturing operations. Here quickly pulled the one operating the other by itself. However, primary objectives have always been to improve the quality and reducing the cost of the product.
The objectives of the association (Alliance) were according to Dodd:
A lower transport costs both locally and to the seaports
B. The production of a better quality of oil for lighting at an affordable price by the knowledge, experience and skill of all those involved has been introduced, as well as their secret manufacturing processes and patents. Through the construction of factories in a vast and perfect scope with improved machinery and equipment.
C. With the union of the refineries, there was also the need for the production of related materials such as barrels, canisters of zinc and boxes for packaging, paint, glue and sulfurous acid - all in a large scale and with the best machinery for the cost savings.
Contribute D. Employment of the best scientific and technical staff to improve and research of products from crude oil / petroleum and profits from these by-products to reduce the cost of kerosene for lighting.
To employ E. representatives, open up new markets around the world and everywhere convince people of the safety and low cost of petroleum, and to bring the cheapest and best way to experience and then to supply the population with it.
E. Through all the enumerated ways to increase the supply of oil and its by-products and thus the price for the consumer to be reduced.
To carry out these objectives was a union absolutely necessary, because of this, millions of dollars were needed. How much money was needed, the partners at that time was insufficiently clear. It turned out that only for pipelines and tank farms $ 30 million had to be raised.
The Standard Oil Trust
A trust was an arrangement whereby the shareholders in a group of companies transferred their shares to trustees who controlled all businesses. In return, the shareholders allowances they are entitled to a specified share of the consolidated earnings of the jointly managed companies received. The concept of trusts was first proposed by Samuel Dodd for Standard Oil.
The document establishing the Standard Oil Trust was signed on January 2, 1882. Each shareholder of Alliance Trust received 20 certificates for each share of the former Standard Oil Company of Ohio.
For the Trust a Board of nine trustees was set up, was given control of all the possessions of the Standard Oil and its numerous subsidiaries. The first 9 were named in the founding treaty with:
- John D. Rockefeller, Oliver H. Payne and William Rockefeller, term of office until 1885;
- Jabez A. Bostwick, Henry M. Flagler and WG Warden, term of office until 1884;
- Charles Pratt, Benjamin Brewster and John D. Archbold, the term until 1883.
At the annual meeting then chose the certificate holders for the retiring three new Trustees for three years. The Board of Trustees elected the chairman from amongst themselves. The Trustees appointed the directors and officers for each of the associated enterprises. You could set up committees and adjust lawyers and other advisers. All profits these companies were transferred to the trustee, who decided the dividends. This arrangement allowed all companies to work in unison to be extremely disciplined monopoly.
Rockefeller entrusted with a share dated December 23, 1882 by the Standard Oil 34 993 shares of $ 100 each to the Trustees of Standard Oil Trust. The text on it is:
' Organized under the Laws of Ohio Manufacuring
Standard Oil Company. Capital Stork $ 3,500,000. all paid. 35,000 shares $ 100 each. '
This is to certify did Trustee of Standard Oil Trust is Entitled to thirty four thousand nine hundred ninety three shares of One Hundred Dollars each in the capital stock of the Standard Oil Company, transferable on the books of the Company in person or by attorney only on the surrender of this Certificate and due payment of all liabilities on the part of the holder to the Company subject to the of commission of Laws and the By Laws of the Company. This Certificate is valid Only When signed by the President and Secretary.
Cleveland O. Dec. 23 1882
Signed: H. M. Flagler Sect. J. D. Rockefeller Presi.
In establishing the Trust from 40 people and made 15 firms already in other companies, in turn, shares ( shares) existed. The initial capital was $ 70 million and was later increased to $ 95 million. Still in its founding year 1882 declared the Ohio Supreme Court the Standard Oil Trust as an illegal monopoly and ordered its dissolution. This retired but points for various reasons over the years. Within 7-8 years, the Standard Oil Trust came into possession of most of the companies that were associated with the petroleum industry and had thus achieved its desired goal.
1891 brought the Attorney General of Ohio charges against the Standard Trust for breach of corporate law, including had "All the owners and holders of its capital stock, including all the officers and directors of Said defendant company, signed Said agreements without attac hung the corporate name and seal. " ( All owners and holder stock of capital, including all of its officers and directors of the said company have met said agreements without adding the company name and seal. ) you have privileges, rights and sales rights exercised that it (the Trust ) is not had been transferred. The defendants, however, said that they have also shown without individual contracts sufficiently society -compliant behavior, which make the need for formal social action unnecessary, as the acceptance of collective decisions or the drawing of a name. ( " Have we not shown Sufficient actual corporate conduct to obviate make unnecessary the necessity for formal corporate action,: such as the adoption of resolutions or the signing of a name? " ) Mr. Monnet, the Attorney General in Ohio, stated that alone the trustees possessed a total of 466 280 Trustzertifkate and Rockefeller again about half of it. This made a total of 723 138 972 500 certificates. In order to forestall a conviction for dissolution of the Trust, the Trustees gave in 1892 and John D. Rockefeller an agreement for the dissolution of the Trust to the effect known that all shareholders have to surrender their shares to the named therein lawyer John Besinger. It was noted that Rockefeller its 256 854 shares, he owned on July 1, 1892 gave a total of 972 500 shares.
On May 5, 1893 America met with the " Industrial Black Friday" after 1873 a more severe economic crisis, and the following three years were marked by depression and insecurity.
Relocating to New Jersey
The Trust was dissolved and reorganized the last 34 companies of the Alliance in the last 20 companies in New Jersey. In 1899 Standard Oil as a holding company in Bayonne, New Jersey, established under the name of Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. The Standard Oil Company of New Jersey had $ 100 million as "common stock " and $ 10 million "preferred stock " and was entitled to the capital ( stock ) of each of the different companies to own who were connected with the Standard Oil Company and of all buying parties that hold such stock whenever they wanted to sell this. The shares of Standard Oil were traded at any time in the stock market.
Opponents of the Sherman Antitrust Act
Dodd was a staunch opponent of the Sherman Antitrust Act, since the draft law in 1876 was known. He was of the opinion that if a law is adopted, the person or company operating in the same business, communicate or merge of prices can not, then the annual income would not be able to be 50 million from the export of oil. Without the pipeline system, the cheap transport and improvements in manufacturing, the American markets in Europe and Asia could stand against Russia than a year. Russian oil came on the market not only in Russia and the Orient, but also in Austria, Germany and even in England. Since then, the Russian competition had to be fought in every corner of the Eastern Hemisphere. Until 1879, the Nobel brothers with the support of the Rothschild Bank had built 195 refineries in Baku, which produced 1.4 million barrels per year.
The Senator John Sherman of Ohio introduced template has been adopted on 20 June 1890 as a law by the Senate in Washington.
When John D. Rockefeller in September 1905 withdrew from the company management, also left Dodd, the Standard Oil and went into retirement. He died on 30 January 1907 in his winter home in Pinehurst in North Carolina and was buried in the cemetery of his home town of Franklin.
Publications
- Samuel CT Dodd: Combinations: their uses and abuses, with a history of the Standard Oil Trust. An argument relative to bills pending before the New York Legislature, based upon testimony before the Senate Committee on givenName General Laws ( 1888)
- Samuel CT Dodd: History of the Standard Oil Combination - Page 21