The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-08-12
Standard Oil is Given SoIa
 PItxus Blow
|, S N AND | c GET BUSY
In the Future Rates VIII Be the Same on Oil Whether to the North or to the
 South.

Washington, August 11.-(Special.)-T Standard oil company has received a serious blow in it's attempt to monopolze the petroleum trade in the United States by the decision of two railroad companies which have aided it in carrying it's scheme to refuse longer to give 1t advantage over the independent companies. These roads are the Illinois Central and the Louisville and Nashville
 In a communication just received by the interstate commerce commission they say that hereafter all persons offering oil to be carried by them will be charged the same rates. This action Is the out come of the suit petition filed with the interstate commerce commission on May 3l last by J. NJ. Guffey of Pittsburg, democratic national committeeman from Pennsylvania, on behalf of the Gulf Re- fining company. of which he Is the presi- dent.
 Other Roads Involved.
 The company is a Texas concern and the roads against which complaint was brought, in addition to those already named, were the Cincinnati, New Orleans and Texas Pacific railway, the Alabama Great Southern and New Orleans and Northwestern. It was claimed by the petitioners that their wells had a capac- fly of over ten thousand barrels q day of refined oils and that using New Or leans as a shipping point, the market for the oil, aside from that exported to foreign countries and that shipped 10 points reached on the eastern sea coast, could only be reached by railroad trans- portation.
 Rates Were Prohibltivea -4-s
 The northbound rates. they claimed. were prohbitive while the soltthbound ones of which the Standard oil could take advantage, were very much lower. These rates, 1t was claimed, allowed the Stand ard oil company to invade the southern and southwestern section of the country. while 1t barred the Gulf Refining com pany from trading outside of it's immn- diate territory.
 The interstate commerce commission cited the offending roads to show causs why suit should not be brought against them for having put into effect discrlm- mating rates. The answer of the Illi- nois Central and Louisville and Nash vile companies was the filing of a sched- ule of rates similar for north and south bound traffic with the announcement that 1t would hereafter be strictly ad- hered to. It Is expected that the other roads will make the same sort of reply. The rates henceferth to be in eTA;t tn .he two lines n,er tlo ned are the old scuthhound rates.
 The red ..tions a-o:
 From New Orleans to Chicago, from q cents a hundred r3unds to 25 cents 8 hundrcG: tn St. sopis, from 35 ee1;s to IS cents; to Cincinnati, from 30 cents to md to eE t1 .o IS cents
 discredit their authenticity, but neither the Japanese nor Russians would discuss the subject, and before nightfall all those interested became convinced of their &C., curacy. Both M Korostovitz, the spokes- men of the various sides. declined to say anything officially about the terms which by mutual agreement were to he kept se- cret, but NJ. Korostovitz in the name of M Wtte did not hesitate to confirm the accuracy of the Associated Press state ment this afternoon, that the Russian reply was completed and would be de- livered tomorrow morning. He even went to the extent of saying that 1t would be an agreement on some points, condl- tonai agreement on some and rejection casion to confirm the statement that M Witte had received no instructions from St Petersburg regarding the nature of the reply to be given his powers were ample.