The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-05-18
GARFIELD REPORT
HITS TRUST HARD
Many Claims of Standard Oil
Leaders Refuted by
f. Cold Facts. ... 49,.


Cold Facts.
Washington, May lS.-President.
Roosevelt yesterday transmitted to con
gress the. complete report of James R.
Garfield, commissioner Of corporations,
Of the investigation which he made into
the operations of the alleged oil trust.
A FULL synopsis of the report, accompa-
MED by a message from the president
dealing with facts developed by the
inquiry, was sent to congress on Friday,
the 4th inst.
The publication of the message and
the synopsis. of the report, attracted
messa ge and the report were made BY
officials Of the Standard Oil company
and by officials Of several systems of
railroad. In submitting to the presi-
dent a report Of his inquiry, Commits
sloner Garfield wrote a letter to him, in
Vlting his attention to some Of the pub
llshed comments on the oil report at
trlbuted to certain railway officials and
representatives of the Oil trust.
President Gave It Out.
That letter was made public by d.
rection of the president, altho it was
report. 1t is peculiarly interesting be-
cause it contains Commissioner Gar
field $ answer by directing attention to
certain parts of his complete report and
to the comments which have been made.
An epitoome OF Commissioner Gar
fields letter is as follows:
NMr. futile, president of the Boston
& Maine, is reported to have said: The
Boston & Maine railroad for wears, ex-
Of. the country. has joined roads on
which oil traffic originates in thru
rates and every shipper and receiver of
oil has been treated exactly alike
''As shown in chapter 3 Of the re-
port, the Boston & Maine states in a
letter to the bureau that the road does
not. prorate: on portion Of it's system,
giving list Of 1914 stations affected.
Some Of the cities to which that road
renee and ,Haverhill. Mass; Portland,
Me-, and Portsmouth, N. H. These can
not properly be, termed 'the sparsely-
settled sections. -
Put Up to Thayer.
Mr.. Thaver, vice president of the
Pennsylvania railroad, is reported to
have said, regarding the special rate
from Clean to Rochester, that the traffic
to be transported under such rate was
"crude oil and unfinished products NOV
ing from one refinery to another, be-
longing to the same owners,' and "the
rate has not been withdrawn; that
"perhaps the rate was applied on re-
fined oil in a few instances, .insignif-
cant as compared with the total traf
fic,' and that "the wording of the
tariff was Corrected; that cit is not
a secret rate and never has been Sc
cret.,'
'sThe rate Of 9 cents a barrel was is
approved by J. B. Thayer, Jr., on March
10, 1902, and applied to petroleum
products. ,, This. tariff did not confne
the shipments to crude oil or unfinished
products. More than one thousand cars
of Illuminating oil, gasolene and other
finished oil products were shipped in
1904 on this rate from OIean to Roches-
ter, or on the corresponding rate of 10
cents a barrel to Buffalo. A large por-
mont were supplied in this way. This
rate was unknown to Independent ship
pers, and there was printed at the top
Of the rate order, in capital letters and
underscored, the words, Not to be post
ed. -;
= The Blind Billing Game.
Mr.. Garfield says that in view Of
Mr.. Thayer' statement that blind bill
ing is not secret. device, the state
ment Of Mr.. Everest, first vice presi-
dent of the Vacuum Oil company, a
corporation subsidiary to the Standard
Oil company, which operates refneries
at Clean and Rochester, N. Y, is in
teresting. \ Mr.. Everest say that if
"the railroad company sees fit to grant
company special rates, on the goods
handled over it's line I know of no rea-
son why they should not be accepted, -
altho he recognizes that rebates be-
tween states are now illegal.
Continuing, Mr.. Garfield says: "Mr.
George Crosby, freight traffic manager
of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy
railroad, is quoted as saying Of the
East St. Louis rate:
" The rates which the commissioner
complains Of are interstate rates and
do not have to be fled with the inter
state commerce commission. They were
and are today open, rates and all ship
pers OF oil are conversant with them.
This company has never paid a rebate
to the Standard Oil company so far as
1 know
y, AS. shown in chapter 7 of the re-
port, the records of the Chicago, Bur
lngton 4 Quincy show that the the G.
cent rate was applied on hundreds of
cars which moved from Whiting, Ind,
to East st. Louis, Ill., and st. Louis,
Mo, as shown directly on the ,waybills.
!Ihe rate did not appear in the regular
tariffs. OF the. Chicago. Burlington &
Quincy, but in what were known as
billing orders. After the rate had been
raised to 10 cents and had been filed
with the, interstate commerce commits
sion, an independent shipper at Chicago
Lelephoned the office Of the BURLINGTON
for the rate from Chicago to ST. T,enis
and was quoted the regular lS-cent
rate, A similar quotation was given hv
the Alton at the same time.
Independents Not Favored.
mo independent shipper interviewed
by the bureau Of corporations was ever
aware OF this rate, except one, who had
formerly been in the employ of the
standard Oil company, and who used
the knowledge he obtained there to
force the railroads to make him a cor.
respondingly low rate, which was also
secret, from .Kankakee, ILL.,. to St
Louis; and the refinery Of that one
shipper, was soon thereafter purchased
as ne believed, by Standard interests
and Immediately dismantled.
a., L. Harahan, second vice president
OF the illinois Central, is quoted as saw.
ing 'that all the Illinois Central I'll
rates are open and published tariffs
when they pertain to interstate traffic
and that that company has not paid re-:
bates nor made rates: discriminatory in
favor of the Standard Oil company,
: AS shown in chapter of the re.