One day, he was riding on a train in Cleveland with Pittsburgh refiner O. T. Waring when Waring asked him who owned a handsome, dark green hillside house in the distance. “You wish to know who owns that house?” asked Rockefeller, suddenly very upset. “It’s our Mr. Hopper, who makes barrels for us. Whew! It’s an expensive house, isn’t it? I wonder if Hopper isn’t making altogether too much money? Let’s look into it.”11 Back in the office, he pored over the accounts, decided that Hopper’s profits were excessive, and terminated the contracts with him.
