Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1906-05-10
To Congress Concerning
Oil Investigation.
GARFIELD REPORT
Is Transmitted to Both Houses by
the President, With Recommend
alton for Action.

Washington, d. c. - President
Roosevelt Friday transmitted to con-
gress a message concerning the oil in
dustry of the United States The mes
sage was accompanied by the report of
James r. Garfield, commissioner of
corporations, who has been investigat-
ing the affairs of the Standard Oil Co.
and the relation of that company to
the railroads of the country Following
are salient points of the message:
Il transmit herewith report by the
commissioner of the bureau of corpor-
ations in the department of commerce
and labor on the subject of transpor-
tation and freight rates in connection
with the oil industry.
The facts set forth in this report
are for the most part not disputed. 1t
is only the inferences from them that
are disputed, and even in this respect
the dispute is practically limited to
the question as to whether the trans
actions are or are not technically
legal. The report shows that the
Standard Oil Co. has benefited enor-
mOusly up almost to the present mo-
ment by secret rates, many of these
secret rates being clearly unlawful.
This benefit amounts to at least three
quarters of million a year.
"a very striking result of the inyes-
tigation has been that shortly after
the discovery of these secret rates by
the commissioner of corporations, the
major portion of them were promptly
corrected by the railroads, so that
most of them have now been done
away with. This immediate correc-
ton, partial or complete, of the evil of
the secret rates is of course on the
one hand an acknowledgment that they
were wrong and yet were perseyered
in until exposed; and on the other
hand a proof of the efficiency of the
work that has been done by the
bureau of corporations. The depart
ment of justice will take up the ques-
tion of instituting prosecutions in at
least certain of the cases.
But in addition TO these secret
rates the Standard Oil profits i'm
mensely by open rates, which are so
arranged as to give it an overwhelm-
Ing advantage over its Independent
competitors.
The argun ant is sometimes ad-
vanced against comforting upon some
governmental body the power of su-
pervision and control over interstate
commerce, that to do so tends to
weaken individual initiative. Inyesti-
cations such as this concusively dis
prove any such allegation.
What is needed is the comforting
upon the commission of ample affirm
atiye power, so conferred as to make
4 frfs t,1.
ject only TO such action by the court
as is demanded by the constitution.
"The government should have pow
er by its agents to examine into the
conduct of the railways-that is, the
examiners under the direction of the
Interstate commerce commission
should be able to examine as thor
oughly into the affairs of the railroad
as bank examiners examine banks.
Though not bearing upon the ques-
tion of railroad rates, there are two
measures consideration of which is
imperatively suggested by the submis-
sion of this report. The Standard Oil
Co. has, largely by unfair or unlawful
methods, crushed out home cCmpeti-
ton. 1t is highly desirable that an
element of competition should be in
troduced 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 cCal lands held by the
government, either upon the public
domain proper CT in territory owned
by the Indian tribes, should be alien
ated The fee to such lands should be
kept in the United States government
whether or not the profits arising from
it are to be given TO any Indian tribe,
and the lands should be leased only
on such terms and for such periods as
will enable the government to keep
entire control thereof.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
Followin is an epitome Of Commits
siOner Carfipld'S rqDOrt.