Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-07-06
IT Is STANDARD OIL
THAT is NOW BEING SUBJECT
TO iNQUISITION.

Refused to Agree to Senate Amendment
Dead Lock Ensues-tiouse Passes the Tor.
ture Bill of Live Stock. Extending Time o
transportation to 80 liours-lntsrnatiuna
Crop Bureau.
tFrom our regular correspondent.)
WASHINGTON, ID. c., June 80.
1.-The action of Congress on the pipe
line amendment will show whether or
not that body is actually under the
control of the Standard Oil Company"
That was the way that Senator Till
man put the proposition this week,
and while the language was rude the
sentiment was perfectly correct.
In case any one should miss the
point of the situation, it may be OK
planned that the fight is in the rate
bill and the pipeline amendment is
the work of Senator Lodge, declaring
the pipelines common carriers. Now
in case this amendment went through,
it would hit the Standard Oil Com
pany. They own the bulk of the pipe
lines and while, as Senator Elkins
naively put it, the people Of West
Virginia have no complaint about the
way they transport OIL" the oil pro-
ducers all over the country have very
decided objections to the way the
Standard chooses to name.
The House has positively refused TO
agree to the Senate amendment max
ing the pipelines common carriers,
like the railroads, and putting them
under the control of tho Interstate
Commerce Commission. The Senate
on the other hand has refused to re-
coed from the amendment, and there
is deadlock.
Mr.. Clapp of Minnesota, showed
letter that he had received from an
independent oil producer in Indian
Territory, saying that the Standard
had been after him to telegraph to
Washington at the Standards expense
protesting against the passage of the
amendment. Instead OF doing this he
wrote and explained the true situa-
ton.
1t is probable that if the law were
passed the Standard would find some
way to nullifiy it. They would OF
course organize companies under other
names to handle the pipe line business.
The position of the independent pro-
ducer might or might not be any
better than it WAS before, but the
Senate seems determined to stick TO
it's position and the amendment may
go through after all.
The rate bill is the thing now that is
holding Congress up. There would be
little trouble in adjourning on Satur-
day OF this week if that were out of
the way. But the President appar-
emily is satisfied that the rate bill is
going to pass. He has been looking
around for the two new men who
would be added by it to the Interstate
Commerce Commission. 1t is said
that the new men have already been
selected and that they are Jas. S. Har-
Ian, of Illinois, a son Of Justice Har-
Ian of the Supreme Court, and E. E.
Clark of Iowa, the present head OF the
Order OF Railway Conductors. A third
new member Of the commission is
Franklin Lane of California, who was
nominated 10 the vacancy on the conf
mission caused by the departure of
Judge Yeomans, but whose nomina-
ton. has been held up in the Senate
for some time.
This rearranged commission would
consist of four Republicans and three
Democrats, the Republicans being the
present chairman, Martin Knapp. and
Messrs Prouty, Harlan and Clark.
The House managed this week to
sneak through the Senate bill extend.
ing the time of torture for live stock
in transportation from % to 36 hours.
This is measure over which there
has been wrangle since last epring.
1t is opposed by ell the humane go
cieties OF the country and in fact by
all decent people who understand its
provisions. AS tho Gaze now stands,
cattle may he transported on the
railroad when being shipped to market
not longer than % hours at q stretch.
They are not fed or watered in this
time and when they are released they
are usually half mad with thirst and
hunger and half dead with fatigue and
naturally if they are killed right away.
as is usually the case, their meat is not
half fit for food. But the live stock
men have been trying to get q meas
ure through Congress extending tho
time that cattle might be so tortured,
on the plea that it was better for the
cattle to be held on the cars for &c
hours without rest, food or water, than
10 unload them and load them again.
The reason OF course was that some
money would be saved in handling the
cattle, and that is all the stock-raisers
care about. 1t is very doubtful il the
President will sign the bill If the
matter can be brought to his attention
But it is mighty hard these days to
get anything to his attention that his
Secretaries want to keep away from
him, and the several appeals that are
now being made to him will in all
probability never reach him.
This Government has just decided to
become party to new international
crop bureau that is TO be established
in Rome. The movement is the work
OF King Victor Emanuel of Italy and
the Italian government will bear all
of the expense, about $1,000 year,
which it will cost each of the other
countries who belong. The idea is to
have central bureau for the collec.
ton of crop statistics from all the
countries OF the world. The reports
of the harvests and of crop conditions
would be made first to the central
bureau and thence teiegraphed to all
the subscribing countries. 1t is
thought that this would help the sta.
bility of the worlds markets for
staple crops of all sorts and would
prevent in a very large measure the
sudden fluctuations in prices that are
now one of the most serious draw
backs Of the farmers existence. This
country was wanted as member of
the international bureau because of
the importance of the United States as
An exDOrtinQ country and IA the cost