The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-06-26
Oi| Octopus Gets in Work On
 The Rate Bill
MEN BRANDED WITH IS, O."
Standard Oil Is Bent on Procuring the Exclusion of Pipe Lines From the Common Carriers
 Provision.

Washington. June 25.-Immedatelv af- ter the Senate met today the clerk of the House of Representatives announced
 the action of that body on the rate bill
 but it was allowed to lie on the vice pres
 ident's desk until 2:S0 D. m, when 1t
 was called up by Senator Tlllman.
 After the report was read, Mir. Tillman called attention to the fact that his name
 was not attached. He presented and de- tended it. he said. at the request of the republican Senate conferes but he said he was opposed to the agreement in tho amendment to which he would ln'o~ move that the Senate disagree re had referred to the MeLaurin amendment divorcing the carrying and producing business which
 was amended so that it does not apply to pipe lines. The charge in this amend
 ment, "in plain English" he said. meant
 that Standard oil had got in it's work
 The agreement in regard to this amend
 ment. he said, relieved the Standard oil company from control and regulation of
 the interstate commerce commission.
 Found Entirely Different Atmosphere.
 When the bill was sent to conference
 the second time, Senator Tillman said he
 found an entirely different atmosphere
 from that of the first conference, as the House conferees insisted on opening the
 whole subject. including all matters to which an agreement had been reached.
 'I then began to smell a mouse or some thing" he said. "Or something. probably said Mir Elkins.
 Continuing, MT. Tillman said anyway he
 became more or less skeptical as to mo-
 tives as one is likely to do after service
 in the Senate"
 He contended that the change of tho
 words common carriers to railroads
 would simply destroy the effect of mak- | ing pipe lines common carriers.
 "There you see the result of this ad- ditonal deliberation,". he added "The House had us up a tree and Insisted upon | taking the Senate pipe line amendment
 as it was originally inserted thus making effective the change in the commodity amendment.
 Will Be Branded IS. O." By this change the dvorcement of the l transportation from production would be
 confined to railroads, thus relieving the
 Standard oil company from the operation of requiring that transportation companies
 shall not carry articles produced by them 1 selves" So firmly was he convinced of | the nstrumentality of the Standard Oil | company in making this change that in | his estimation every senator who voted l for the conference report would have | $. O. branded on his forehead.' He did | |. |. .i, sl | not want anybody saying, You've got l $. O. branded on your forehead, MT. 1 Tilman." He considered the independent l companies whose interests are supposed
 to be involved to be myths.
 NuIifies Pipe Line Provision.
 Senator Bailey took the position that
 the change made by the conference com l mittee in the commodity provision would
 nulllfy the pipe line position. It was | equivalent to making the Standard oil
 company the one exception to the require l ment that producers shall not transport | their own articles. He did not charge the
 Standard company with a direct effort 10
 influence legislation, but to freighten in- | dependent companies, who 1t had trans pred, sell their oil to the Standard. "If," he said, the Standard company wishes to be a producer, transporter or
 a riner, let 1t engage In either of those
 lines of effort but do not let it monopolze l all those branches of the oil industry"
 He thought the independent companies
 should embrace the opportunity to free
 themselves Why should oil be preferred l over coal, or any other commodity? He | also referred to the fact that lumber
 had been relieved of the commodity re- 1 ouirement. saying that II was unfortunate | in view of the fact that our forests are | ranidIv vanishing With these two | fc 1oft of ba a6t
 ties whose producers cannot carry them.
 This, he thought makes the legislation l of little avail.
 l MT Bailey also took exception to the pass agreement. He said that us it reads. | it legaizes and authorizes the giving of l a pass which is a discrimination that | should not be practced He did not, | therefore. believe in confirming the pass
 prohibition to officials, nor did he be- l leve that under the terms of the act the | penalty against pass giving or pass talk ing could be enforced.
 No Proper Analogy Between Two. Senator Foraker contended that there
 was no proper analogy between a railroad and a pipe line. AS a rule he said pipe lines are not built with the purpose of doing q carrying business for hire, which is not the case with the railroads He believed that to retain the commodity provision as II passed the fouse' "puih be to confiscate the property and that
 therefore it would not have been sustain ed by the courts.
 The Ohio senator called attention to
 the fact that carriers by water are not regulated by the bill, which. he said,
 does away with the argument that the bill should be made applicable to all modes of transportation. Senator Cullom, one of the conferees. agreed with Mir.
 Tillman that the present report was not as good as the first one.
 Senator C;allnger called attention to the pass exception in favor of the post office department, saying that under 1t passes could be given to every official and enploye Tn that service.
 Senator Lodge could see no justice in
 making an exception of pipe lines as con- mon carriers. He also objected to the anti-p pass provision. excepting persons en- gagged in the postal service. and Mir. Till
 man replied that the intention had been
 to relieve railway postal clerks from pay ing for transportation which cost the
 government not less than s15,o0oO00 an-
 nually.
 Invites Method of Discrimination. | Mir Lodge declared the pass provision