The San Francisco call., 1906-05-18
RAIL ROAD
REbAT|NG
LAID BARE:
Garfield Gives Proof Of
Secret Rates to
Oil Trust.
Prints Waybills, Special
Tariffs and Blind Bills
Of Lading.
Testimony Of Employees
Confirms Bureaus
Accusations.

WASHINGTON, May 17-President
Roosevelt today transmitted to Con-
gress the complete report Of Commits
sioner Garfield on Standard Oil, =
synopsis of which was sent to Con-
gress May 4. In sending the complete
report to the President Garfield took
occasion to answer the comments 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 allegations
made by him Garfield prints bodily in
the report copies Of waybills, letters
of railroad officials bearing on trans
actions with agents of the Standard
Oil and independent oil companies, spe-
cial oil tariffs of various railroads,
bills of lading, blind bills of lading
and secret understandings and agree-
ments of the several railroad COM
panies named with the Standard Oil
ing to copies of waybills, the rate
paid by the Standard Oil Company
was only 33 1-3 per cent Of the amount
stated in the bill.
The testimony of employees Of rail-
roads is given in confirmation of the
bureaus charges that there was a
concealment of rates granted to the
Standard Oil Company. Although 1t Is
alleged that in the case Of the Chicago
and Alton Railroad the general tariff
officers admitted the existence Of a
secret rate and claimed the purpose
was to conceal it from other railroads
and not from the shippers, one of the
leading freight clerks of the Alton is
quoted as testifying that the secret
rate was intended only for the benefit
of the Standard on Company and that
had any other shipper inquired for
rates he would not have been given the
low rate accorded the Standard Oil
Company.
The report further shows the estab-
lishment of through rates from small,
inconsequential and in many instances
obscure points near large shipping
centers, and the filing of the tariffs
with the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion as evidence that the rates were
not secret. But Garfield maintains that
by this arrangement the rates were
effectively secret because any shipper
other than the Standard Oil Company.
in applying for rates, would be given
the published rates from other places
in the vicinity of the small point re-
ferred to, which In every case were
considerably higher. He declares that
the railroads recognized the Irregular
ity of the arrangement, "and that they
designed to hide the rate from all ship
pers except the Standard Oil Com
pany."
That the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company gave rebates as recently as
1903 was the charge made today by
Frank B. Wigton, head of the Norris
dale Coal Company, before the Inter-
state Commerce Commission. Wig
tons statement caused something Of a
sensation, because Of the fact that
while the commission was in session
in Baltimore Vice President Thayer of
the Pennsylvania Railroad appeared
before the body and stated that the
company had made no allowances or
concessions since 1899. Wigton gave
a detailed statement of the conditions
in the soft coal region and accused the
PENNSYLVANIA Railroad Company of dis
elimination in the allotment of coal
cars, citing cases to substantiate his
charges.