The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1903-12-16

Standard Oil company TO charge . cents
per barrel for all oil transported through
their pipes to your road, and l under
stand from MIR Terry that it is practical
BILE to 50 arrange the details that the
company can. in effect collect this direct
without its passing through your hands
You may agree to carry all such oil of the
Standard Oil company or OF others delv-
cred to your road through their pipes at
10 cents PEI" barrel You may also charge
all other shippers 80 cents per barrel
freight. even though they deliver oil TO
your road through their own pipes. and
this, | gather from Your letter and from
Mr. Terry, would include Mr.. Rice.
Now, how was this to be done with
proprietyf" Simply enough. The Stand
ard Oil company was TO be charged 10
cents per barrel. less an amount equiv
alent TO - cents per barrel upon all oil
shipped Ivy Rice. Provided your ac-
counts, bills, vouchers, etc, are consist
ent with the real arrangement actually
made YOU will incur no personal re
sponsibility by carrying out such an ar
rangement as | suggest
Even in case the receiver was discov-
cred nothing would happen TO him. so
that by proper application to the
court some person may prevent you in
future from permitting any discrimina-
ton. Even If Mr. Rice should compel
you subsequently to refund TO him the
excess charge over the Standard Oil
company the result would not be loss
to your road, taking into consideration
the receipts from the Standard Oil
company"
When Mr.. Rice found that the rate of
35 cents was really to be enforced he
stored his oil at Macksburg and built a
pipe line of his own from his wells TO
the Muskegon river. whence he shipped
it by barge to Marietta. Some time
later, through the continued agitation
OF Mr.. Rice. the case got into court, and
the correspondence quoted from above
was made public. The judge before
whom the case was tried held it TO be
such a gross and wanton discrimna-
tion on the part OF the receiver as to
require his removal. A master was
also appointed by the court to inquire
paid to the Standard, and the money
was ordered refunded. The sum re-
funded was small, less than $500, for
Mr.. Rice has always been too belliger-
ent gentleman TO submit long TO an
extortion. The smallness of the sum
has of course nothing to do with the
matter.
The vital thing is that the Standard
Oil company at that period, 1888. still
included in its policy the outrageous
demand that railroads should pay 1t
drawbacks on oil shipped for com
petitor. How general this practice WAS
in 1885 there is no documentary proof.
1t is certain that in 1877 it prevailed on
the Central, Erie and Pennsy ylyania
roads. 1t is certain that the policy con-
tinued in 1888; how long afterward
there is no evidence to show. In this
case the Standard has explained the
30 cents charge on ali oil except their
own made by the railroads rs through
charge from the wells. covering both
pipeage and rail. and the - cents paid
them as not a rebate, but pipeage
charge.
1t was such eases as these of SEQ
field, Shurmer and Teagle . OF
George Rice, amply reported ana com
mented on by the press, that kept hr.
Rockefelers peculiar relations to the
railroads before the public and helped
emphasize the necessity for some fed
eral restrictions in interstate com
mercc. Reiterated demands for relief
had been coming TO congress for many
years now East, west, north and
south sought help from the injustice
Of the railroads. In March, 1850 the
senate of the United States ut last re
sponded to the peoples appeal and ap-
pointed a select committee of five, the
Cullom committee. TO investigate the
subject Of interstate commerce. There
was no question in anybody's mind
that this investigation would result in
some sort of federal regulation. What
did Mr. Rockefeller do in this emergen-
cy? Only what he could safely and
easily do through the political depart
ment of the Standard Oil company. 1t
WIS NOT HbceSsdf! Iof MN ~ Htthe II
big fight on the interstate commerce
bill. He could afford to see il pass un
dismayed lie was ready for it.
BY one of those audacious and spien-
did strokes which characterize his ca
reer he had practically freed himself
from the railroads which had made
him, and by the time the interstate
commerce bill was passed and the rail
roads ordered TO dcSiSt discrimination
Mr.. Rockefeller was using another
kind Of oil transportation. The legis-
lation which the oil regions of Penn
sylyania had demanded for fifteen
years in hope of securing an equal
chance in transportation had come too
late. The pipe had replaced the rail as
the great oil carrier, and the pipes
were not merely under Mr.. Rockefe-
ler's control as the rails had been
they belonged to him.
NANlEATtnM Ci 0CEI