The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-06-06
Commissioners Garileld's Report.

Commissioner Garfield, in his report.
classes the more important forms oil
discrimination in favor Of the Stand
ard by the railroads, under the heads
Of secret and semi-secret rates. dis
ordinations in the open arrangement
of rates, determinations in classified
tions and rules OF shipment and dis
examinations in treatment Of private
tank cars. He says:
Not only has this resulted i'll great
pecuniary advantage in transportation
cost to the Standard, but it has had the
far more important effect Of giving
that company practically unassailable
monopolistic control Of the oil market
throughout large sections of the coun-
Try.
The manufacture Of refined oil, com.
monty known as kerosene, is about
26,OOO,0OO barrels annually, Of which
the Standard Oil Company directly and
indirectly controls about 23,0OO,0O0.
1t also controls approximately the
same proportion Of the other finished
products of petroleum.
In the full! report submitted tile COM
mission reaches these conclusions:
"The general result of the investiga-
ton has been to disclose the existence
Of numerous and lagrant discrimina-
tions by the railroads in behalf OF the
Standard Oil Company and its affill-
ated corporations. With comparatively
few executions, mainly of other large
concerns in California, the Standard
has been the sole beneficiary of such
I'M IN q
ton of the country that company has
been found to enjoy some unfair ad-
vantages over its competitors. and
some Of these determinations affect
enormous areas"
Many of the secret rates discovered
by the Bureau Of Corporations have
applied only on shipments Of oil wholly
within single States. Standard Oil
which controls re6neries in twelve
States. IS obviously in q position to-
make extensive use Of such intrastate
rates. or as they are ordinarily de-
signed. State rates.
For the purpose of more effectively
concealing the secret rates given to
the Standard Oil, railroads in several
important cases, Mr.. Garfield finds.
have used peculiar methods Of billing
A most careful review Of the facts
and the explanations leads to the fol-.
lowing conclusion:
The Standard Oil Company has ha-
bitually received from the railroads
and is now receiving secret rates and
other unjust and illegal discrimina-
tionS.
Oil is from two to five cents higher in
non-competitive than i'll competitive
fields.
The monopolistic control extends
from the we'll of the producer to tho
doorstep of the consumer.
The New York Central alone Of the
railroads refused 10 give access to its
records of State rates.
These determinations have been so
long continued, so secret. so Ingenious
ly applied to new conditions Of trade.
and so large in amount rs to make 1t
certain that they were due TO concerted
action by the Standard and the rail-
roads.
The Standard Oil Company is rccei7-
ing unjust discrimination III open
rates.
The New England territory has been
in control of the Standard Oil by rea-
son Of the refusal Of the New Haven
and Boston and Maine to pro-ratr-i. G.,
to join in through rates-on oil shipped
from west of the Hudson, and by
means Of the adjustment of published
rates.
The Standard Oil has maintained alb
solute control of almost the whole Sec
tion of the country south Of the Chic
and east of the Mississippi by means OF
secret rates and open discrimination
Case after case is cited in Commits
sioner Garfield's report to prove that
the Standard is still receiving secret
and unlawful rebates ard rates. al
though the officials Of the trlst d.
clared at the beginning of the investi-.
cation that the Standard was Tot re-
ceiving such determinations.