The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1905-03-16

Illtut, DclDS tne llIlSdllOD DtlWGen tHG
Standard Oil Company and the state,
wherein the Standard Oil Company
sought to strike from the statutes the
provisions regulating the gravity and
the residue of kerosene oil, claiming
that neither the gravity, nor residue
were proper tests and that they had
nothing to do with the fitness of the
oil. They claimed that these provis-
ions should be entirely stricken out.
The Standard Oil Company has aban-
boned this position; recognized that
the gravity and residue tests were
proper tests, and by their represent
ative at Pierre told the legislative COM
mittees having the matter in charge
that it had come to admit that the
gravity and residue tests do have Il
bearing upon the fitness Of kerosene
oil and offered that if the legislature
would simply have an analysis OF the
| Kansas oil made and then adopt a
standard of gravity and residue which
was appropriate to the Kansas OIL, 1t
would be willing to concede the fact
that the gravity and residue tests were
proper tests for oil and would dismiss
the pending suit. 1t was upon this
suggestion that the Legislature caused
the investigation OF the oil to be made
by the states experts, with the results
above stated.
Instead, therefore, OF the state hav-
ing receded from its position it has
| been the contrary, the oil refners hav-
ing been compelled to recognize the fact
that the residue and gravity tests are
proper, instead of being worthless as
claimed by them when they attacked
the law, and this recognition and
enforcement of these two tests and the
dismissal OF the suit by the Standard
Oil Company is a victory for the state
and accOmplishes at little or no ex-
pense the purposes which in law
suit would have cost the state many
thousands of dollars.
I IC Oll1y OllItl vi tliC
law was that reducing the amount of
the inspection fees. This amendment
became necessary because under the
old law larger amount of money was
raised than was required to pay the
! inspectors fees and expenses and
enforce the law, and left a surplus OF
about $150000 per year to be turned
in to the treasury. This alone would
have been sufficient to make the law
invalid because an inspection law cam
not legally be a revenue measure, and
the legislature, as suggested by Ex-
governor Herreid in his message, were
required to reduce the amount of fees
50 as to cover only the amount OF
inspectors fees and expenses and fur
nish reasonable amount to pay the
expenses of enforcing the law, in order
to prevent the law from being declared
invalid.
These amendents were fully discussed
and the states experts made full eXpla-
nations and experiments before the
committees of the legislature, and the
fact that these amendments passed
both houses almost unanimously shows
that the Legislature thought it advis-
able not to shut out the Kansas oil,
but on the other hand to enable the
people of this state to buy it if they
desired, and establish standard for
Kansas oil that will insure it's being
and unless we are mistaken we will
have an opportunity before long to
profit by the amendment of the law
both as to price and quality of the oil.