The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-11-09
CONSOLIDATED ROAD
 AND DISCRIMINATION
HEARING ON THE CHARGES or 0LETELAND AND PITTS
 BURG FIRMS.

Hearing Before Interstate Comme-..
 Commissioners Prouty in Cleveiand-.
 Worcester Man Testifies for the Com
 piaifnants-Percy H. Todd, First Vice.
 President, on the stand-His Opinion
 on Pro Rating-aIight Appear Neces-
 sary on the Surface.
 Cleveland, Nov. s.-As a witness be- fore Commissioner Prouty of the Inter state commerce commission in the case of Cleveland and Pittsburg firms charg- ing rate discrimination on the part Of the New York, New Haven and Hart ford railroad, Joseph Russell Marble. paint, oil and varnish merchant of Worcester, Mass, testified for the con- plainants to-day.
 While he declared that the withdraw al of the pro rate by the railroad com pany so far as petroleum is concerned had practically killed that line Of bus- mess for him in cases where he was compelled to use the New York, New Haven and Hartford line, he admitted that so far as he knew the Standard oil company, named in the bill of conl- plaint, had received no better treat ment
 The Fred $. Clark company of CIeve- land and the Waverly oil company of Pittsburg make the claim that the rail- road in question discriminates in favor of the Standard Oil company MT. Mar ble declared that he has had for wears considerable difficulty in securing esti- mates on freight rates for petroleum from the road named.
 Commissioners Prouty Instructed MT. Marble to bring into court all written or printed communications regarding pro rating which he ever had with the railroad.
 Percy R. Todd Of New Haven. first vice president of the railroad con- plalned Of, appeared as a witness for his company. He testified as follows:
 We are ready to give any company the same treatment we extend to 4he Standard Oil company Commissioners Garfield has investigated this matter and want to say that the Standard Oil company received from the New Haven road no concessions and no fay ors except what Is shown by tariffs on file or that would be filed. We threw open our books in the former investi- gation. We were never asked to report to the Standard Oil company shipments of their competitors. The Jealousy Of trunk lines for western business has much to do with our policy resar1ina rates. There is a mistaken anprehen- sion as to monopoly. The Standard O$I company, it is being found, only enjoys a " nry r-s,,k .4 ]. better situated to meet requirements and natural conditions''
 Asked if William Rockefeller was not director in the New Have nroad Todd said: Yes. he is; but John D. Rockefeller or any other Standard oil man is on the board of directors, Pressed for his expert opinion as to whether there should be pro rating on petroleum, he answered that 1t might appear unnecessary on the surface. He said he was in harmony with the poli- cy of the road on thls point, because pro rating would make 1t necessary to open up tWenty-six junction points for handling oil, whereas there were now but three. He refused to saw whether the present policy was arbitrary. A letter from the railroad company was produced and read, giving notice on April 9, 1904, of a general reduction of rates on petroleum and its products The company considers this has an important bearing on the case. The letter was written by General Freight Agent F. s. Holbrook to the Marble company, in reply to requests for joint rate from Worcester to New Ha- ven road points. The letter stated that the company could not pro rate upon petroleum or its products for the same reason that it could not on coal, but 1t had decided to make reductions on oil in carloads both in tanks and barrels from fifth to sixth class. The letter also said that the road would not re- ceive any oil in tank cars from any consignee who had no pipe line con-a nections for unloading, or private sid ings.