The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-13
THE STANDARD IN THE WEST Discrimination in Favor of the Trust.
 TESTIMONY OF WITNESSES Rates Advanced When Pipe Line
 is Completed.
 Effect Is To Have OH Handled By the Rockefeller Company.-Freight Rate Law of Kansas and Its
OF WITNESSES

Kansas City. March ,t2.-in the m terstate Commerce hearing here today into the charges of the Kansas oil Pro ducers Association, that Kansas Rail- ways discriminate in favor or the Standard oil Company in the matter of giving rates on oil, A. F, Robertson of CherryvilIe, Kas., member or the Uncle Sam oil Company, and F. A. Le- land, Assistant General Freight Agent of the Missouri. Kansas and Texas Railroad gave important testimony.
 What was the rate from Cherry vile to Atchison and Leavenworth at the time 1t was IT cents to Missouri points?" was asked of Mir. Robertson
 Tt was ten cents" when in 1904 the railroads raised the rate for transporting oil from Kan sas points to points outside that State, did they also raise the rate for trans porting other commodities such as coal, wheat, lumber and so onY NO, sir. The advance in rates ap- piled only to oil.
 Did you sell oil to the Standard oil Company prior to the completion of their pipe line to Sugar CreekT
 ~Yes, sir"
 Did you sell them afterwardsa"
 No. sir."
 "Why?'
 BOycOtte6 by StaMdHFAs
 ''The Standard oil Company boycot0 ted all the Kansas field February 10. 1905, and tore out all pipe line connect ions with independent producers and issued orders to purchase no oil from independent producers. so we had no market"
 Prior to the advance to seventeen cents had you a market outside the State for both crude and refined oilY
 We had. but since then we have had no market"
 what Ia tho present railroad rate on oil from Chanute to Weber, Kas?'
 Ten and, one half cents. That is a distance of 25a miles. Weber is seven miles from Superior, Neb. But the rate from Chanute to Superior is thirty cents so that the difference of seven miles makes difference of nineteen and a half cents in the rate"
 What effect did the Kansas rate law have upon the independent refin- cries in Kansas?"
 sswithout that law 1t would be im- possible for them to do business. As a result of that law, six independent Yefineries are in operation and three are building"
 what is the cost of shipping crude oil through a pipe liner
 TWO cents hundred pounds for 100 miles,
 Could Not Compete.
 with a rate of seventeen cents from Neodeeha 10 Kansas City, can you compete with ripe line that op- rates for two centsf"
 Certainly not" Suppose the railroads had a rate of five cents to Kansas City, could you compete with a two cent pipe nneT
 "Yes, sir; because we handle our own product"
 Kansas rate law have upon the cohsuh- CT In Kansas?'
 Before that law went Into effect the price of refined kerosene was thirteen cents a gallon. When the law went in- to effect the Standard reduced the price to nine cents"
 MT. Robertson. cross examined by w.. R, Smith, attorney for the Santa Fe de- nied any knowledge of the government having issued fraud order against the Uncle Sam Oil Company He add ed that charges had been preferred against his company. principally that 1t was over-capitalized and that the assets were not sufficient.
 F. A. Leland, assistant general freight agent of the Missouri, Kansas and Tex as Railroad was the second witness called He told in reply to questions of meeting at St. Louis I'D June 1904 of the traffic managers of the Missouri Pacific, Santa Fe. Frisco and his road to consider raising the oil rate from Kansas. He said that MT. Bogardus, traffic manager of the Standard oil Company, was present, but did not re- call that any of the independent oil refineries of Kansas had been asked to attend the meeting. After the meeting he was informed that the rate was to be changed from 10 cents to 17 cents from Kansas points to Kansas City. Missouri
 Had Discussed Change.
 Did you not know that the change was contemplated before that meet ing?" Mir. Leland was asked.
 'Yes. we had discussed it."
 T hold a letter signed by you and addressed to J. A. Roland of Kansas City. written May 2s. 1904" said Mir. Marchand, and he showed 1t to MT. Le- land. The letter. which MT. Leland ad- mitted having written, advised Mir. Bo- land that the rate on crude oil from Southeastern Kansas to Kansas City, Leavenworth. Atchison and St. Joseph, would be raised to seventeen cents.
 When did the seventeen cents rate go into effeetT"
 August IS. 1904"
 About that time the Standard oil Company completed a pipe line from the Kansas oil field to It's refinery at Sugar Creek in Missouri. did it notY'
 "Yes."
 And coincident with that the rate went upT'
 Tt had been agreed upon.'
 Did Mir. Bogardus object to the raise in rateA?'
 "Yes. he severely objected to 1t. He wanted lower rate"
 The effect of the seventeen cents rate would be to guide oil Into Be- garduss pipe line wouldn't it2"
 T do not think so"
 With a seventeen cents railroad rate and two cents pipe line rate. don't you think the oil would all so by the pipe llne7"
 Not necessarily SO. Since the rate went into effect the shipment of oil over the railroads has been increased" MT Leland admitted that under the Kansas rate law the rate for oil from Chanute, Kansas, to Kansas City Kas.. was nine and half cents in less than car load lots. But to Kansas City, Mo, lt was thirty-one and a half cents and the distance farther was only seven ty-seYen miles by his route. which ade detouT to get Into Kansas City, Mo. He said his road hauled a tank car seVenty-hVe miles In Kansas under