The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-06-27
INTERSTATE COMMERCE CON.
MISSION DECLARE PRESIDENT
MADE MEASUREMENT
New York World Arraians the Prsai>
dent-eryan's commonsr Also
Asks Some Questions

| WASHINGTON. June 27.-The sum-
mary manner in which the president
disposed Of the Santa Fe case and
vetoed the prosecution Of Secretary
Morton. which was advised and urged
by the special counsel employed to
ferret out the facts, has aroused the
antagonism of the interstate COM
mission, which referred the record In
the case to the department of pustice
for action, firmly believing that it con-
stituted ground for criminal proceed
ings. T.. -.
The members of the commission
| think too we'll of their jobs to give out
| any formal interviews on the subject,
| but in private conversation they do not
hesitate to express their real opinions.
They say the president mas not stated
| the case fairly, and that he has not
told the truth regarding Mr.. Morton's
connection with it.
Mr.. Morton's Courage"
In his letter of absolution to Mr.
Morton, the president told him that he
| (Morton) and he alone, had the cour-
age to go before the interstate COM
merce commission in the packing house
products case, and give tine facts re-
garding the whole system of paying Sc
cret rebates by the railroads.
At the interstate commerce commits
| sion it is declared that this is not the
fact 1t is said that after subordinates
had denied the existence of the rebat-
ing system which the commissioners
knew was In full force, they decided
to pay no more attention to the small
fry, and summoned the highest off,
Gals. The officials held a conference
before they appeared to testify and
concluded to make a clean breast of it.
Mr.. Morton it is stated was only one
of the many officials who admitted the
general payment Of rebates, and told
how the system was worked. These
confessions were made in the fall Of
1901.
Not Fair Comparison
The commissioners also say that the
president resorted to misrepresentation
when he put the case Of the Santa Fe
and the Colorado Fuel & Iron COM
pany on the same footing with that
of the International Harvester COM
pany. In the latter case, the western
railroads, including the Burlington.
Northwestern, Rock Island, Wisconsin
Central and Chicago Great Western re-
turned certain percentage of the
freight payments to the harvester
company, in consideration of the fact
that it owned it's own switching tracks
at Chicago. These payments were not
denied, the railroads claiming that they
were legitimate. The interstate COM
merce commission held that they were
excessive and constituted, in effect, a
rebate. When the general injunction
against the payment Of rebates was
secured, the harvester case was in
cluded though it was not specifically
mention.
Rebate Cases Differ.
The roads interested have complied
with the injunction, but have allowed
the harvester company a rebate OF
$3.50 a car, which the commission fix
ed as a reasonable allowance. In the
case in which Mr.. Morton is interested
the Santa Fe published a freight tariff
on coal of $4O5 a ton. By secret
arrangement, this included the price
of the coal, s1.55 ton, which was re-
bated to the Colorado Fuel Iron
company. The injunction which was
secured against rebating was aimed at
this particular case, but the Santa Fee
continued to pay the rebate for a long
time after the injunction was issued.
This. in the opinion of the commission
ers. makes a very different case from
that of the harvester company.