Omaha daily bee., 1906-05-06
Pennsylvania ENTERS DENIAL
Vice President Thayer Says Mr.. Gar
held Perverted the Facts Given
Him by Company.

PHILADELPHIA, May 5.-vice President
Thayer of the Pennsylvania Railroad COM
pany today made the following statement
concerning the report of Commissioner
in the Standard Oil inquiry:
The report of Commissioner Garfield, so
far as 1t refers to our company in its re-
lations with the traffic of the Ctandard
Oil company, is an inexcusable and out
-ageous perversion of the facts.
II is true that there has been in effect a
special rate on nine cents a barrel on oil
from Olean to Rochester and IL has not
been withdrawn. This rate was originally
made In 1888 by the Western New York
and Pennsylvania railroad, twelve years
before the acquisition of that comptny by
the Pennsylvania railroad, i'm order to re-
tain to the railroad traffic that which would
otherwise have gone by pipe line. 1t Is
not a secret rate and never has been Sc
cret The tariff was not filed with the in
terstate commerce commission because II
applies to traffic solely within the state.
AS to the so-called saving Of $1,000 in
1904" presume this is based the differ
ence between the special rate and the regu-
lar classification rate. This conveys the
illegitimately taken by the railroad COM
pany, which, in view of the facts above
explained. is manifestly not true:
Reference is made to blind billing as
II Il were some secret devise. This also
is untrue. The explanation of so-called
blind billing" is very simple; Billing Is
another name used by railroads for man
ifesting, which is a record of shipments
made only for the use of the railroad com
pany in making proper movement OF the
traffic and taking proper account OF II.
The public never sees a manifest being
interested only In the rate, the bill of lad
ing and the freight III. -,
tests are made without the details being
shown. practice not infrequent, ana not
peculiar to the oil traffic Its purpose Is
to save clerical work. This was fully eX-
planned to Commissioner Garhelds repre-
sentative and II was clearly SHOWN TO MN
In the case under discussion ~, tna tss ,ss
rate was collected and retained by the rail-
road company.
After an exhaustive examination by the
Department of Commerce-our books and
accounts being freely produced both on
state and interstate trafflc-it appears that
the only case that Commissioner Garfield
was able to present for criticism in all our
relations with the Standard Oil company is
this rate on oil between clean and Roches-
a distance OF 100 miles apart, at each of
which points are located rehneries OF the
Standard Oil company, and between Whlch
a pipe line could readily have peen con-
In the message from the president, trans
hitting the report of Mr.. Garfield, ref
railroads to the so-called sugar trust" at
New York, and to information conveyed
to the president that the so-called sugar
trust" rarely il ever pays the lawful rate
for transportation As the Pennsylvania
Railroad company iR known 70 participate
largely in the carrying OF this tfamc IL
would necessarily follow that such informa-
ton applied to that company, and in view
OF this IL is proper that answer thereto
should be made on the company's behalf.
Having personal knowledge. l deny pos
itiveiy and empfatically that such informa-
ton is true, so far as the Pennsylvania
railroad company IL concerned, on the con-
trary l assert positively that the trafhe
of the so-called sugar trust or other ship
pers OF sugar has been carried for man,
years past at the lawful published tarin
rate and that no rebate or unlawful con-
cession, direct or indirect, has been PAID
by our company on this traffic.
II is unfair and unjust to the president
that ne should be misled into believing that
any such condition of affairs exists as
stated