The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-06-26
OIL Trust Tried Tr1ck7

OIL Trust Tried Trick7 l..
During the past ten days the senate
has been flooded with kilograms COM
ing from the southwest section Of the
country, ostensibly sent by, independ-
portuning the senate to eliminate pipe
lines from the bill, but there is reason
to. believe that while these kilograms
came from what spurported to be indie
pendent companies, they were In fact
engineered by the Standard OIL COM
pany. And 50, as soon as the report
Of the conference committee had been
the conferees had eliminated the pipe
lines from the prohibition, it became
evident that the senate would reject
the conference report. -.
In the fight for this rejection Mr..
Lodge led the way, as has been stated,
and the debate had not progressed very
far before it was easy to discover that
the senate was oXe1w1h;el helm h; in t. ia,
tempted to justify the action of the
conferees, and to some extent he was
supported by Senator .Cullom, but
everybody else who spoke during the
debate was strongly on the side with
Senator Lodge, whose opening address
had set the pace for the debate, and
pitched it in high key. RI
Standard Oil Defeated. =
IF the report Of the conferees as to
pipe lines had been adopted and thus
made part Of the law, while pipe lines
would be subject to the Interstate com
MERGE commission as to rates, still they
| could rebate to themselves in such a
way as to crush competition and defy
detection, This involves the principle
Saha nRds oano az %5S ans
ports, and the vice Of 1t, as is seen,
lies In the impossibility Of detecting
| the advantage the Stan ard Oh COM
pany would be able to give Itself over
ali Competitors using it's pipe lines:
It should be remembered that these
| practices were strongly condemned by
james J; HI, when he appeared as -, a
| committee Of the senate year ago,
| the rate question being under investi-
CATION. If Senator Lodge and the SEN
ate win their point, the Standard Oil
company must 10 out Of business either
as producer or as a shipper Of oil.
| independents Won't Suffer.
Senator Clapp authorizes me to say
for him that no valid reason has thus
| far been advanced why the prohibition
would injure any Of the small independ-
ont operators, and in taking this posi-
tion he stands with Senator Lodge and
| with the great majority Of the senate:
| These men have examined the claim Of
alleged Independents sn Of the J. south &1sr
opinion that claim rests on no substan-
tfal basis whatever.
The Anti-Pass Amendment.
Now, as to the anti-pass amendment.
That amendment, as reported by the
conferees, prohibits the issue Of passes
to officials Of the federal government,
Of the several state governments and
| Of all counties and municipalities, and
as 80 prohibited, no common carrier
shall be restrained from issuing passes
The effect Of this would be to repeal
SO far as the pass may be an instru.
mentality in rebating or discrimina.
ton. the law against discrimination
ference report, could issue passes to q
favored shipper, or to any person the
shipper might name. It could at the
same time withhold it from certain
other shippers, and abuses would imme
diately come into existence which, in
some respects, would be greater thar
those the bill seeks to correct. At least
that Is the view Of a majority Of the
senate.
] It is the basis Of the argument By
Senator gUlapp which made a. strons
impression on that body and had much
to do with the decision that this fea
ture Of the conference report woul6
also justifysthe senate In rejecting that
report. - 1
It is believed that this anti-pass mud
die was the result of oversight on The
part Of the conferees.
BLACK RIVER FALLS, w1s.-Tne bssebal
clubs Of this city have decided e have Z csls