Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1906-05-24
TRYING TO STOP TIE MILL
ROOSEVELT OPPOSES CONGRESS
SIGNAL PENSIONS.

Washington, May 81 = President
Roosevelt has notified the chairman
of the house and senate committees
On pensions that congress should
stop the allowance of pensions by
special legislation. He stated that he
strongly disapproves of this class of
legislation and would consider it
very unwise and impolitic" to exer-
else the veto power. In other words.
the president wants congress to stop
grinding out pensions.
The members of the committees on
pensions of both houses do not take
kindly to this further evidence of
White House domination. The presi.
dent has interfered to an unprece-
dented extent with legislation. There
is scarcely member of either house
or senate, who has not been victim
of presidential interference with leg
islative matters. Now the president
wants all special legislation with
reference to pensions stopped. 1t is
needless to say that the COMPRESSION
al pension mill will continue to grind.
If the president deems it necessary he
can exercise his constitutional prero-
gat,ve and veto each separate bill.
COPIES OF THE WAYBILLs AND
TARIFFS PUBLISHED.
Washington, May 10. = President
Roosevelt transmitted to congress the
complete report of Commissioner Gar.
field on the relation of the Standard
Oil Company to the railroads syn
opsis of which was sent to congress
May 4. In sending the complete re-
port to the president Mr. Garfield
took occasion to answer the COM
ments of various railway officers and
others on the statements he had made
in his synopsis.
The report covers 500 printed
pages. In support of the various allie
cations made by him Mr.. Garfield
prints bodily in the report copies of
way bills letters of railroad officials
bearing on transactions with agents
of the Standard Oil and Independent
companies special oil tariffs of vari-
Gus railroads, bills of lading, blind
bills of lading and secret understand
ings and agreements of the several
railroad companies named with the
Standard Oil Company. In many in
stances. according to the copies of the
way bills, the rate paid by the STAN
dard Oil Company was only thirty
thrnn hi,.d 0P fha
amount stated in the bill.
The testimony of employees of rail-
roads is given in confirmation of the
bureaus charge that there was a con-
.cealment of rates granted to the Stan
dard Oil Company. Although it is al
legged the charge of the Chicago & AL
ton railroad the general tariff officers
admitted the existence of a secret
rate and the purpose was to conceal
from other railroads and not from the
shippers one of the leading freight
clerks of the Alton is quoted as testi-
flying that the secret rate was intend
ed only for the benefit of the Stand
ard Oil Company and that had any
other shipper inquired for rates he
would not have been given the low
rate accorded the Standard Oil Com
pany. The report further shows the
establishment of true rates from
small inconsequential and in many
instances obscure points near large
shipping centers, and the filing of the
tariffs with the interstate commerce
commission as evidence that the
rates were not secret. But Mr.. Gar
field maintains that these rates were
effectively secret because any ship
per other than the Standard Oil Com
pany in applying for rates would be
given the published rates from other
places in the vicinity of the small
points which in every case were con-
siderably higher. He declares that
the railroad recognized the irregular
ity of the arrangement and that they
designated to hide the rate from all
shippers except the Standard Oil
Company.