The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1906-03-02
JOUR- WASHINGTON LETTER

(From Our Regular Correspondent
Mr.. EDIToR:-Designating the pipe
lines as common carriers and placing
them within the jurisdiction Of the Inter-
state Commerce Commission is the latest |
threat that has been made in the war of |
to be waged against the rail
roads. The location of the warlike move |
in the future tense is made advisedly. |
There are all sorts of threats being made |
as to what Congress is going to do to the
railroads with view to bringing them
into line and making them give all ship
pers impartial treatment. Doubtless
many members of Congress are sincere in
this determination. But to see the plan
really carried out would be 50 foreign to
anything that has ever before been done
in the history of this country that one
may be pardoned for hesitating bit be-
fore CHASING threat with execution.
MANY members of Congress own stock in
railroads. More would like to. Many
members also have business interests that
do large though not a preponderating
amount Of shipping, and all or nearly all
members ride on passes when they can
get them. There are ways of reaching a
majority and very largo majority of
members and the railroads usually sue
coed in reaching them before any impor-
tant piece of railroad legislation is cou
sumate.
But the bill to declare tho pipe lines
common carriers has already boon intro
duced by Mr.. Rhinock. an obscure men,
Der from Kentucky. The term obscure is
net used in an offensive sense, but Mr..
Rhineck is one of the members who may
not be classed as a house leader, and his
measure while undeniably just one. pos
sibly Will not meet with the enthusiasm
that weutd have been accorded it had it
been introduced by member who has
been more in the limeight. The membe
in question in discussing his bill says
simply that the pipe lines are as much
, common carriers as the railroads and
they are the only competitors of the rail-
| roads with their tank cars and other
equipment. They tap all the oil produc-
ing territory in the Uaited States and in
| the case of many oil wells that are far off
| the railroads, they furnish the onlv means
of Transporting crude oil to refining
market. Nav it is known of course that
| the pipe lines in the past have declared
themselves outside the Interstate Com
merce law and have pract1csd all sorts OF
oppression and discrimination. They
| have been able to make o: kill an oil COM
munity. They have been able to dictate
| the price at which they would buy crude
oil from the we'll owners and the price
they would sell it to the refners. Thus
they had both ends of the industry in
their hands. OF course the bulk of the
pipe lines are owned or controlled by the
Standard Oil Company and the blow, il
it is blow will fall on this great institu-
tisn, to call the monopoly by the best
name possible. If the Rhinock bill goes
through, and there is every reason to say
it ought, and think it won't, the indepen-
| dent refiners and oil we'll owners will be
given the greatest possible aid in their
struggle for existence. The bill is only
another move in what looks an attempt
to get fair and open treatment for all
shippers and to prevent all the profits OF
the producer from being swallowed up in
the attempt to get his commodity on the
market.