The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-06-08
MILuoN-DOlllR
FINE PROPOSED
Administrations Said to Have
in Mind Vigorous Prose-
cutions.
MAKE RAILROADS BE GOOD
Heavy Enough Penalties to Reach The
Stockholdsrs-What Effect Aboli-
ton Of Rebates Would
IL. Have.

ton is taking steps to administer {
real, effective lesson to the railroads
tina. will convince them of the impro
priety and danger of rebating and dis
elimination in charges.
It is the opinion that this practice
will be stopped just as soon as the
roads are made to understand that it is
too expensive. There is law enough tc
1pos ruinous penalties on the guilty
companies. and the president and de
partment Of justice propose to enforce
It.
A million dollar exhibit of the effect
fvoness of the rebate law is being plan
aed for h benefit Of the country. 1t
will be made with some OF the roads as
victims that have been systematically
discriminating in favor of the Standard
OIL company. The plan is to make these
determinations cost three or o roads
q million zach. BY the time such a
penalty is imposed, the Interstate Com
merce commission and the department
OF Justice calculate, other roads will b.
ready to quit the practice.
Documentary Evidence.
The Garfield report OF Standard OH
md its methods will go to the depart
ment OF Justice in a few days, and
H"ANAA - y WI NC Oil E1Illl1lCllSc dCCul1lOld-
ton of documentary evidence, includ-
Ing bills of ladtng, etc. In the case Of
n road alone 1000 cases Of rebating
q be proved by documents, 1t is said.
How severe h penalty might be made
Tor such a case is suggested by the
TACT that the Burlington was fined $780,
200 recently or account Of shipments
a-ggregattng six carloads, on which re-
bates had been granted. This was a
substantial object lesson, but a severer
one Is planning.
n big cases now proposed will soon
be started in Chicago. st. Louis and
New York. The best evidence is said
to be that concerning shipments from
Whiting. Ind. to st. Louis for the Wa
terS- Pierce company, a subsidiary cor
poraticn recently proved to be owned
by the Standard. The Burlington, the
Alton aud the Chicago and Eastern
Illinois We're involved in these ship
ments. 1t Is said that a fake waybill
was used In handling these shipments,
30 that the record did not show the
real shipment at all, but that the sys-
tenn was discovered and absolute proof
as now In h hands of the government
off1cers. These shipments at discrimin-
Ating rates continued over a period OF
ten years.
Roach The Stockholders.
"A series of rebate prosecutions is to.
be opened up now, without waiting for
h Imprisonment penalties of the rate
law to take effect. Those penalties, Of
course could not be applied t tran
sactions which occurred before the law
passed; but h money penalties are al
ready 80 severe that many railroads
could be practically bankrupted if they
were subjected to the extreme fines.
The administration is willing to make
penalties heavy enough in a few sample
cases to let the loss reach stockholders.
Then, after h Imprisonment penalties
have been in effect long enough to be
enforced in a al OF two, 1T is antici-
pated that traffic men will be ready to
give up the effort. With the Jail on one
side and angry stockholders on the 9TH
er, there will be no chance for the man
who wants to be friendly to a particular
shipper.
There is much discussion Of the effect
abolition OF rebates would have. Rail-
ness of many great cities. The great
distributing points generally get large
rebates. It was testified at Kansas City
that almost everybody there got heavy
rebates. This gives a town like Kan
sas City a huge advantage over minor
places in its territory-Leavenworth,
handle a jobbing business but must pay
full rates. Honest enforcement of tariff
rates would thus give the small towns
q better chance of getting their share
Of the business: and as the smaller
trade centers are coming to realize this
their interest in behalf of enforced fair
ness is Increasing.
a "sTREAk OF YELLOW"
Washington, D. c., June 7.--Dis-
cussiont Of the railroad rate bill con-
ference report in the senate today
showed %conclusively the bill would
he sent hack TO conference. Con-