Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-26
REcOMM|T RATE BILL
Senate Rejects the Report Of
the Conferees.
-
THE PIPE LINE AMENDMENT
Defended Strongly by Several Of the
Senator's.
WOULD TEND TO MONOPOLY
Tillman Says That Would Be the Eff
feet Of the Present
Amended Bill.
THE PIPE LINE AMENDMENT
WOULD TEND TO MONOPOLY

When the conference report on the rail-
road rate bill was taken up in the Senate
today Senator Elkins. who was one of the
Senate conferees, spoke on the amendment
| to the commodity provision. using the word
RAILROADS. instead of the phrase common
carriers" He gave immediate attention to
| the contention that the change has the eff
| feet OF eliminating pipe lines from the re-
| quirement of the bill. He said that West
| Virginia is the largest oil producer In the
| Union, and that the greater part OF the oil
| Is sold to the pipe line owners. SO that the
owners transport their own oil, and are not,
strictly speaking, common carriers.
OF these carriers, he said, the Standard
Oil Company is by far the most extensive.
but so far as he knew it had not given Of
Tense to the people as a transporter. what
| ever 1t might have done in the matter OF
fixing Of prices. He believed that II the bill
should become law as it passed the Senate
1t would greatly embarrass the Independent
operators because even after the oil Is
taken to the seashore the Independent oper-
ators are without means of reaching the
foreign market and must depend on the
would be an easy matter for the Standard
Company to organize both producing and
transporting companies.
Elkins on Passes.
He also contended that the provision
would have the effect of stopping develop
ment and commended the example Of his
own state. while regarding pipe lines as
common carriers permits them to carry
their own oil. He declared that the effect
would be to give the Standard an entire
monopoly Of the oil business and utterly
ruin many Independent operators.
Mr.. Elkins also defended the conference
pass provision being as satisfactory as
could be procured.
Senator Long complimented the confer
ence report as Shooting exceptional success
on the part Of the Senate. He called at
tention to the fact that of the fifty-one
amendments made in the Senate thirty-four
had been accepted by the House, while only
six had been rejected outright. He did not,
however, find all the changes made by the
conferes entirely to his liking, instancing
the provision for passes to persons employ
ed In the postal service as an unjustifiable
discrimination.
Experience Of Kansas.
Mr. Long spoke at some length on the
pipe line amendment and in doing so dealt
with the Kansas oil legislation. That state
had declared pipe lines common carriers as
a means of hitting the Standard company,
but it had not had that effect. There had
been no effort in Kansas to prohibit the pipe
HEes fron- transporting their own prod
ucts. because 1t was known that the effect
would be disastrous to the independent OPP
orators All of the protests he had re-
ceived had come from people of that class
who were in no wise connected with the
Standard. "a
Extreme unjust and unfair legislation
directed to the injury OF a corporation like
some of that of Kansas is likely to fail of
1t! end" he said, but. continuing, said that
all the legislation had not been Intellectual.
They had found a state refinery to be the
most effective remedy they had resorted to.
He also stated that the agitation In that
state had the effect of increasing the num-
Der of independent refineries from one to
seven. There are also independent pipe
lines, but unless the Senate amendment Is
altered, he said, they could not carry their
own oil. Furthermore there is a movement
On foot to construct a pipe line to the Gulf
Of Mexico. which would be under the same
restriction.
Tending to Monopoly.
Senator Clay made the point that the pro-
vision does not apply to pipe line companies
confined to the transportation of their own
oil. but Mr.. Long commended that the at
tempt was to make common carriers of all
pipe lines.
Senator Ttllman declared that the effect
OF the system of allowing the pipe line COM
panies to buy and transport oil must be to
lHeVllaDiy eSCtDiiSn a monopoly, and Is
necessarily in the interest Of the Standard
company.
Mr.. Long said that producers do not want
to sell their Oil at the refinries but at the
well. In the eastern states he said the
Standard company Is now prepared to evade
the law because practically all of its trunk
lines are in the name of the National Tran
sit Company. The Standard company would
buy the oil in its own name and transport
1t through its lines held by that company
under another name. In his own section
the legislation would be especially disas-
trous because many of the Independent re-
fineries of Kansas are just across the line
from Indian Territory, where the richest oil
wells are located, making the Transports
ton Of the oil Interstate commerce under
the terms of the law.
Senator Bailey thought Mr.. Long unduIy
alarmed because the pipe lines could not be
considered as common carriers unless they
invoke the sovereign right of eminent do
main, but the Kansas senator met the point
by saying that 1t would remain for the
courts to say whether this is true. He
thought the provision should be free from
doubt He thought producers would take
Congress as meaning what 1t says, and I'M
til the courts conStrue the law the business
of construction will remain at standstill.
Report Declined.
Senator Clapp could not accept the theory
that the proposed legislation would injure
the independent companies. nor did he be-
by the Standard Company. In support Of
this statement he read letter from George
f. Getty Of Bartlesville, /. T., president Of
the Mtnnehoma OH Company, in which the
writer said that he had been called into
the local office of the Standard Company
and asked to forward kilograms of protest
to senators and representatives. the STAN
Gard agent supplying the form and volun-
teertng to pay the cost OF transmission. He
announced his opposition both to the COM
modify and the pass compromise. He based
his opposition to the pass provision on the
ground of discrimination and declared that
In his opinion the bill as it originally came
from the House was better than in the
shape presented by the conference COM
mittee.
The Senate then decided by an almost
unanimous vote not to accept the confer
ence report and to insist further upon its
amendments. Senators Tillman, Elkins and
Cullom were reappointed conferees
The House acceded to the request of the
Senate for another conference on the rail-.
road rate bin Immediately upon the receipt
OF the Senate request today The same
conferees were reappointed -Messrs. Hep
burn, Sherman and Richardson.