Omaha daily bee., 1906-10-10


"As a matter Of fact" said one of the
attorneys interested In the cases, THE pen
atty for every act of rebatng If at least
twice as large as 1t appears from a cursory
reading of the statute. In every offense
there must be a carrier who gives the re-
bate and a shipper who accepts It. Each
is liable to the maximum penalty, so that
altogether the state may recover $4,000
for every offense.
Thus in the cases about to be tried
there are six Indictments For a rebate
OF some $4,000 alleged to have been paid
by the New York Centr-l to the Sugar
lust on shipments. New York to Cleve-
nd. in 1902, there Is an Indictment against
the railroad and another against the ship
per. Each entails possible penalty OF
$4,000 For shipments TO Detroit in 1904
on which a rebate OF about $500 was al
legged to have been paid there is an in
dictment against the New York Central
and Nathan Guilford, one OF the vice presi-
dents OF the road. as a result OF which both
the company AMI Mr. GuIlford personally
may be forced to pay 10000 each And
on the same allegation of facts an in
dictment has been returned against the
sugar company. the shipper and Edgar &
Earle Detroit sugar merchants, who were
the consignees and are alleged to have
been connected with the sugar company
and parties to the rebating. Penalties OF
$40 900 may be exacted 10th from the sugar
company and the Detroit merchants. 60
that here for one offense penalties ag
gregating $4,000 are demanded.
"The most important indictments are
based on shipments from New York tr
/ ma - A.
on this allegation OF facts. and in each ot
/ them there are seven counts charging Tho
payment OF rebates averaging 1920 a month
! for every one Of seven months. In one o.
these indictments the New York Central
Mr.. Guilford and Frederick L. Pomeroy
general trafic manager of the Central. arr
| made liable to the imposition of penalties
of $4,000 apiece; similar penalties In tn
same amount are demanded in the othe
indictments from the American Sugar Re
| fninR company, the American Sugar Re
! fininG Company of New York, a subsidiary
and Edgar & Earle"
/ The amount of the penalties that ma,
thus be inflicted for every act of rebatins
! Is considered by some of those particular,
interested in the prosecution as a REPUTATION
of the charge that the railroads and biz
shippers have nothing to fear from a Law
which imposes a fine without imprisonment
The aggregate of penalties permissible Il
these cases is many times that which
would make an infraction OF the law
matter of no financial loss.
4 "In another way" said one OF the attor
neys, 1.-THE system OF fine without imprison
ment furthers the ends of Justice. Whel
violators of the law could be mprisone,
no one who had been a party TO rebatinl
I
evidence on the idea that putting anothe
man in prison Is going too far in bushes
rivalry. In the present prosecutions me-
who would never have thought OF furnish
ing evidence to the people under the oil
law have done so willingly"
1t is understood In this connection tina
some of the testimony on which the prose
cution relies is in the shape of letters fror
railroad traffic offlcials to the Shipper
One of these letters 1t is said states spe
clhcally that rebate OF cents a hundrc
will he paid on the presentation of voucher
by the shippers.
When the investigation was begun by IN
federal officials in this city there was ev-
dence affecting most OF the lines in IN
trunk line association. Charges were mad
against both the standard lines and most {
the differential lines The fact that no ir
dictments have been returned against an
except the New York Central should not +
taken as an indication that the othe
charges have been dropped.
On the other hand it should be horne
mind that six months Of steady work ha
been devoted to preparing the case again,
the New York Central. and this, in vie,
OF its importance as a test case. has bee