Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1906-05-16

such as this conclusiVely disprove
any such allegation. On the contrary,
the proper play for individual initial
i've can only be secured by such gov
ernmental supervision as will curb
those monopolies which crush out all
individual initiative. The railroad -,
self can not without such government
Id protect the interests OF its own
stockholders as against one Of these
great trusts.
The president declares emphatical-
ly that the government should have
power by its agents to examine into
the conduct of the railways as thor
oughly as bank examiners now ex-
anime into the affairs of banks" 1t
is impossible to work a material i'm
provement in conditions such as above
described merely through the instru-
mentality of a lawsuit A lawsuit is
often a necessary method; but by is
self it is utterly inadequate. What
is needed is the comforting upon the
commission of ample affirmative pow
er, so conferred as to make it's deeis-
Ions take effect at once. The courts
nave the power to, and will undoubt-
eddy interfere if the action OF the
commission should become in effect
confscatory of the property of an in
diyidual or corporation. or If the com
mission should undertake to do some
thing beyond the authority conferred
upon 1t by the law under which it is
acting
Free Alcohol.
In conclusion the president says:
Though not bearing upon the ques,
ton of railroad rates, there are TWO
measures consideration of which is
imperatively suggested by the SUD
mission of this report The Standard
Oil company has. largely by unfair or
unlawful methods. crushed out home
competition. 1t is highly desiraDle
that an element of competition shou.u
be introduced by the passage of some
such law as that which has already
passed the house, putting alcohol used
In the arts and manufactures upon
the free list. Furthermore, the time
has come when no oil or coal lands
Leld by the government, either upon
the public domain proper or in
territory owned by the Indian tribes,
should be alienated. The fee to such
lands should be kept in the United
States government whether or not
the profits arising from it are to be
n %,fb
lands should be leased only on such
terms and for such periods as will en-,
able the government to keep entire
control thereof"
Garfield's Startling Exposure.
In his report Commissioner Garfield
takes up the subject of the output OF
refined oil, and finds that it amounts
to 26,0O0,000 barrels annually, Of
which the Standard directly or indi-
rectly controls about 100000 and
approximately the same proportion OF
the other finished products of petrol
cum.
At the beginning of the inves olga,
ton, the Standard company denfen
that it had obtained in recent years
or was now obtaining any rebate or
other transportation discrimination
as against its competitors, and yet,
says Mr.. Garfield, a careful review of
the facts and the explanations leaus
to the conclusion that the Standard
oil company has habitually received
from the railroads. and is now receiv-
ing secret rates and other unjust and
illegal determinations. In 1904 these
secret rates saved to the Standard
oil company three-quarters of a mil
lion dollars, representing the differ
ence between the open rates and the
rates actually paid
These discriminr tons" he saws
have been so long continued. SO Sc
cret 50 ingeniously applied to new
conditions Of trade, and so large in
amount as to make it certain that
they We're due to concerted action by
the Standard and the railroads" Hs
says further that the Standard is re-
ceiving unjust determinations in the
matter Of open rates, the published
rates from the leading Standard ship
p'c7 points uetng relatively much
lower than rates from the shipping
points of its competitors. Mr.. Gar,
field refers to seven instances of i'm
portant determinations in favor OF
the Standard in various parts of the
country, and says that most of the
secret rates and some of the open us
ordinations discovered by the bur
eau were abolished by the railroads
shortly after such discovery.
The report concludes as follows:
Il have cited these particular in
stances to show the various methods
by which determinations are obtained,
and to call particular attention to
methods which, if legal, are mere de.
vices to obtain exactly the same re,
suit as would be obtained by rebates
paid on interstate business. Any
freight discrimination, whether it be
state or interstate. tends to give con-
troll of markets to the perferred ship
per, and makes monopoly possible.
II existing law merely prohibits
special device for obtaining discrim-
ination. and permits the same result
to be accomplished in different way,
then the legislation is to that extent
a sham.
"This Investigation hos sbouyp verv