Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-03-10

<-w'nA ETWEEN the inter-
!: !: !! !. I.
t4HJ4t5S state commerce COM
MA mission investigation
TO begin March IL at
nv Kansas City and the
gA~3 resolution recently in
ETTrlllImul5 troduced into the low
er house by Congress-
man Philip Pitt Campbell OF Kansas
asking for inquiry into the practices OF
railroads and oil companies the Stand
ard oil trust Is likely to have its hands
nlu. IL will not be the first experience
,hat the oil men have had with an in
,erstate commission, but the present
temper OF the American public toward
,nonopolies and corporate crookedness
is such that all offenders have cause for
reelection. The personnel Of the COM
mission IL a guarantee that an honest
search will be made. As at present
constituted It's members are: Martin A.
Knapp OF New York, chairman; judi
son c. Clements of Georgia, Charles A.
Prouty Of Vermont, Joseph w Fifer of
Illinois and Francis NJ. Cockrel of Mis-
sourl.
At the time OF the first formal nves-
tlgatlon OF the Standard oil company,
which was made under the auspices of
the New York legislature In 1879, the
fact became apparent that the trust had
NO friends outside of those who were
profting from IT, The public at large
hailed the attempt to probe the giant
monopoly with unmistakabe enthu-
no In o.
appointed to conduct the investigation
had the sympathy and good will Of the
American people from the start. There
were few apologists for the Standard
among the newspapers of the country,
and their efforts were directed for the
most part against the danger Of pre-
cipitate action Everybody agreed that
there was something TO investigate and
no one regretted that the process had
begun.
That was a quarter of century ago.
The principal charges brought against
the trust at that investigation We're the
securing OF rebates from the railroads
and discrimination against individual
operators and smaller companies. There
was no especial difficulty In substan-
tiating the charges, and they were
proved over and over again. In spite
Of all that, however the outcome was
not encouraging to the public, which
was hoping that the beginning of the
end had come--that something would
be done to check the growth OF the evil
The report of the commission de-
nounced rebates I'm general and advo-
Gated a change, and the legislature let
it go at that,
The spirit of investigation was by no
means silenced by the inactivity Of the
New York assembly. Later In the year
the attorney general of Pennsylvania
tried to find out how It was that the
Standard oil company was able to get
the best of its competitors I'm every
deal The subject of rebates and dis
elimination was slfted again. Not the
feeblest manifestation OF sympathy for
the accused corporation came from the
public. It was established beyond the
shadow Of a doubt that the trust was a
persistent and fragrant offender. But
nothing came Of It. When the matter
reached the legislature there was no
one brave enough to enter the lists
against lile wen lIltItflCltu monopoly
In the latter part Of the same year the
Ohio legislature appointed committee
10 discover the secret of the trusts
wonderful influence over the railroads.
but when it had solved the mystery the
whole matter was dropped so suddenly
that the public saw in It another evil
dence OF the Wide reaching potency Of
the great organization
Nothing more was done until 1883
During the nine year interval the
STANDARD oil company had not risen in
the esteem of the people. 1t had pro-
ceeded In its characteristic high handed
course and had done absolutely nothing
to conciliste public opinion. Its meth
DDS were known 10 be antagonistic to
the free institutions Of the country and
at any time the great mass of American
citizens would have reJoiced In its
overthrow. Each succeeding year add
ed largely to its impregnablity and in
time II felt so secure in it's hold that 1t