Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-06-29
WASHINGTON LETTER
tFrom our Regular correspondent.


IRON our "esu'ar CORRESPONDENTS
Washington, ID. G., june 23.-Near.
" the whole of long cabinet session
this week was devoted to discussing
the contemplated prosecution of the
Standard OH Company on the strength
of the report that has been made by
Commissioner of Corporations Garfield
on the determinations practiced in the
oil business, particularly in the trans
pOrtation of the oil by the rain Dads, 1t
has been announced that the prnsecu-
tlon will be instituted and special at
torney g for the prosecution have been
retained Then the question of how
the Standard is going TO meet the stu
alton This will not be the irst time the
giant company has been in the courts
and it has always had money enough To
buy the best brains on the market an
thus effectually defeat any attempt on
the part of the government to curb it
or exact even approximate justice from
it.
The chances are that the prosecution
will be- about as great farce as any
other of the prosecutions of the,Stand-
ard that have been instituted, but it
will be rather interesting to see what
sort of farce it will be.
There are rumors of prosecution fly
ing very thick just now. The Inter
state Commerce Commission promises
to have something hot served up after
they get their testimony arranged for
the first volume of their report on the
coal and oil carrying railroads. 1t is
said that they are going cunning for a
railroad president. 1t was somewhat
significant that none of the railroad
presidents were subpeonaed to appear
before the commission during its re-
cent sittings. There was toward the
end of the hearings general invitation
issued for any railroad presidents who
wished to come forward and tell all
they knew. 1t appeared that none oil
them wished, for none of them came
forward, There was no legal command
to appear served on them, and thus il
there should be any proceedings insti.
tuted and if more miraculous still there
should be conviction, they could not
excape via the Immunity bath
route.
The bearings of the Interstate Com
merce Commission are now concluded
for the summer and while there is not
much ground still to be covered, the
first section of their report will PROB.
ably not be ready till fall. The last
witness they had on the stand This
week was au interesting old gentle
man named Gardner, the vice presl
dent of four coal companies owned
BIZ the Erie Railroad. He said that the
Erie owned the four companies as they
drew from them about hall OF She o.,
600, 600 tons of coal that they consumed
each year. And then he went to tell
the Commission few things from the
railroad point of view about owning
coal mines. He said he had been al
expert in the coal business since the
days OF the old HAYDEN Survey and
that be had worked III the same capac
ity for tbee A tchisOn, Topeka and Santa
Fee, the Rio Grande Western and some
other roads that he was now working
for the Erie. He was consulting Goa
expert. He said that the road depend
ed primarily on It's fuel supply oeing
regular, certain and cheap rms ne
said could be accomplished only bY the
railroads owning their own mines or
the bulk Of them, and that so far as ne
had advised the Erie to buy more coal
lands as soon as they could get them
at reasonable price Aud he ala mol
see what was to prevent their doing
it so long as they used the coal Tor thelI
own consumption. THIS was rather
warm parting shot from the commls
sion, and they Will now have the sum
mer to think over this phase OF Inc
situation and ADJUST their report &C
cordinglY.
There is life and death struggle 60
ing on in the House between the forces
of the Pure Food Bill aud the ioby OF
the adulterated fOod manufacturers
This is a pretty hight. LII Is interesting
to watch and the wonder Is that any
honest vendor of food feels that he Can
afford to fight the measure That Is be
Ing put forward. The bill does not
prescribe what the people shall eat on
what they will buy. 1t merely lhsists
that when the 'hnesC imported owe
oil" is really cottonseed, the LABEL
should say so. Similarly 1t provides
that when the can OF vegetables you
get at the corner grocery or at The de'
partment store weighs only two pounds
and a half, the laoie snouid staIe tue
weight and not let the customer be DE
luded into thinking ne ls getting
three pound can for ~ cents reduced
from 70
There was a great snow III Ihe house
this week when Representative Mann
undertook to run small grocery store
of his own and demonstrated TO the
House members some OF the lmpOslIlOns
that were practlced on them: lie mao
bottles OF gin and whlskey, MarischlhC
cherries, olive oil, pepper, canheo
meats and vegetables. fiavorlng exIracts,
cof1ee ana BREAKFAST looos. he suo"ou
ana ouiH, snowed also ~" eHey ~ei s
for number OF nrms IN the Ioou pro-