Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1906-05-09
and Tor such periods as WI enable the
government to en- irely control them. al
REPORT OF GARFIELD. 5:
Transportation an Important#F Factor
:4:.= :.s:SSs in Oilv Competition. SIS. < +

! zs*a 5s= IN OlN Competition. s
0 Washington, May .5.--In SUMMARY
ing his report Commissioner Garfield
speaks Of his personal visit to the oil
fields and Of the great mass OF data
obtained by him either personally or
through agents OF the bureau OF COR
| porations. The preliminary study of
this material, he says, showed that
the most important subject was trans
portation, which enters SO largely into
| the cost of furnished product, and
hence a most important factor in COM
petition. 49,.
1.-THE Standard claims that the To-
cation of it's reineries and the use
of pipe lines are natural advantages
to which 1t is justly entitled by reason
| of the energy and foresight of it's man.
ayers. While in a measure that is
! true, it may not be forgotten that
these advantages were in part obtained
! by means of unfair competitive meth
| DDS after years Of industrial strife~
! 1.-THE development of the pipe line
| system by the; Standard Oil company
was the result of special agreements
with railroad companies. Further
more, those so-called natural advan-
tages have been and are being greatly
! increased by determinations in freight
| rates, both published and secret. inter-
state and state, which give the Stand
ard monopolistic control in the great
-, er portion Of the country, and which
so limit competition as to practically
| prevent the extension of the business
of any independent to a point which
even remotely endangers the supre-
macy of the Standard.
Trust Control Complete. -
':An Immediate result of this delim-
itation of the competitive area is
shown by the prices of ordinary il
Illuminating oil throughout the coun-
try After deducting the freight rate
the priceHOf such oil is usually from
two cents to five cents a gallon high
er IN the non-competitive than in the
competitive fields. A reasonable profit
| upon refined oil is about one half
cent per gallon. 1t is clear that ex-
orbitant profits are obtained in the
non-competitive fields. This monopo-
listic control extends from the We'll Of
the producer to the doorstep Of the
consumer
Mr.. Garfield cites the fact that the
New York Central Railroad company
was the only one which refused for
itself and affiliated lines to give ac-
cess to records of state rates.
At the beginning Of the investiga-
ton, he says, the Standard Oil COM
pany denied that it has obtained iq
recent years or was now obtaining
any rebate or other transportation dis
elimination. against it's competitors,
and yet he says that most careful re-
view of the facts and the explanations
leads to the conclusion that the Stand
ard Oil company has habitua:ly re-
ceived from the railroads, and is now
receiving, secret rates and other I'M
just and illegal determinations.
Sum Saved by Secret Rates.
In 1904 these secret rates saved the
Standard Oil company three-quarters
of a million dollars, representing the
difference between the open rates and
the rates actually paid. These dis
ordinations" he says, have been. so
long continued, and so secret, so in
genicusly applied to new conditions
of trade, and SO large in amount as to
make it certain that they were due to
concerted action by the Standard and
the railroads" He says further that
the Standard Oil company is receiving
unjust determinations in the matter
of open rates, the published rates from
the leading Standard shipping points
being relatively much lower than rates
from the shipping points of its COM
petitOrs.
Mr.. Garfield then refers to seven
instances of important determinations
in favor of the Standard Oil COM
pany in various parts of the country,
and says that most of the secret rates
and some of the open Determinations
discovered by the bureau Were abol-
1shed by the railroads shortly after
such discovery. e After calling atten-
ton to the good which already has re-
suited from the investigation, Mr.. Gar
field says that the changes effected
have put the independents upon fair
er footing and make competition pos
sible In territories heretofore inacces-
sible. The report concludes as fol-
lows:
Independents at Disadvantage.
Nevertheless, the widespread dis
ordinations in open rates still in
force leave the Independents at Sc
rious disadvantage. The investigation
has only incidentally touched state
shipments from distributing centers,
particularly In less than carloads. The
few instances examined suggest the
probability OF Determinations on
such shipments. which, taken in con-
nect1on with through traffic, may re-
suit. in determinations on interstate
business.
This investigation has shown very
clearly one glazing defect in the inter-
state commerce law, viz, the method
of filing and publishing tariffs. AL
though tariff or a rate has been filed
, with the commission In compliance
with the terms of the law, none but
the favored shipper may know of its
existence. Tariffs may be made and
rates may be: combined in such a man
ners as to, make it, practically impos-
sible for the ordinary shipper to find
them. AS long as the state rates are
not required to be made PUBLIC, and
shippers use such, rates in cOmb1na-