The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-18

prorate, but refuse to do so, it must
occur to some one somewhere that per-
haps New england roads and not the
Standard Oil company are blamable.
AS shown In champter 3 of the re-
port, the Standard Oil company for
refusal of New England roads to pro-
rate and representative Of the New
York, New Haven & Hartford system
states that the Standard Oil company
wanted the road not to prorate. -
Messrs. Rogers and Archbold are
quoted as saying regarding the Whiting
st. Louis rate:
It is quite true that having our
oil at Whiting and desiring to trans
nols, we used the state rates.
Gas shown in chapter of the re-
port, all shipments from Whiting into
illinois are interstate. The mere in
clusion of Whiting into the Chicago
switching district, by an application
sheet, does not make Whiting an Hi
nois shipping point. AS shown in the
report, the Standard Oil company has
used the locating Of Whiting for the
either Indiana state rates or Illinois
state rates. as best suited it's con-
yenisence.. The railroad bills show that
the Standard Oil company directed that
hundreds of these cars billed from
Whiting to East st. Louis should go
on to st. Louis without unloading and
the railroad records show that hun
dreds more went on without unloading
to, many parts of the southwest, which
fact the Standard Oil company neces-
sarily knew.
Figures Are Attacked.
"Frthermore,, it is an interesting
fact that IN 1901, in response to re-
quest from the Industrial commission
for information as to the freight rates
to certain points in the south, Mr..
| Archbold wrote the commission and
gave the rate from Whiting to Birming-
ham, Ala, as a. cents; from Whiting to
Memphis, Tenn, as IS cents; from
Whiting to Little Rock, Ark, as 3O1a
cents; whereas at that time and until
the secret rates were discovered by the
bureau Of corporations the Standard Oil
company was shipping traffic on the fol
| lowing rates: ~..s
From Whiting to Birmingham, by
way Of Grand Junction, 29h cents;
from Whiting to Memphis, by the same
road, Is cents; from Whiting to Little
Rock, by way of East St. Louis, 26
cents. These facts are all set forth in
full in chapters and of the report. -
The report of Mr.. Garfield is COM
prehensive one, and covers 500 printed
pages. In support of the various
bodily in the report copies of way bills,
letters of railroad officials bearing on
transactions with agents of the Stand
ard Oil and independent oil companies;
special oil tariffs Of various railroads;
bills Of lading; blind bills of lading,
and secret understandings and agree
ments Of the several railroad companies
named with the Standard Oil com pany.
: Standards Bills Shaded.
In many instances, according to the
copies of the wav bills, the rate paid by
the Standard Oil was only 33 1-3 per
cent of the amount stated in the bill.
The testimony Of employees Of rail-
ways is given in confirmation of the bu-
reau charges that there was conceal
ment of rates granted to the Standard
| Oil company. Attic, it is alleged, in
the case of the Chicago & Alton rail
road, the general tariff officers admitted
the existence of a secret rate and the
purpose was to conceal it from other
railroads and not from the shippers, one
Of the leading freight clerks of the AL
ton is quoted as testifying only for the
benefit of the Standard Oil company,
and that, had any other shipper in
quired for rates, he would not have
| been given the low rate accorded the
t STANDARD Oil company. l..
| The report further shows the estab-
lishment of thru rates from small, in
consequential and in many instances OBJ
scure points near large shipping cen
tiers and the fling of the tariffs with
the interstate commerce commission, as
evidence that the rates were not secret.
But Mr.. Garfield maintains that by this
arrangement the rates were effectively
secret: because any shipper other than
the Standard Oil company in applying
for rates would be given the published
rates from other places in the vicinity
Of the small points referred to, which
in every case were considerably higher.
He declares that the railroads recog-
nized the irregularity of the arrange
ment "and that they designed to hide
the rate from all shippers except the
fStandard Oil company