The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1906-05-10
President Sends a Special
Message to Congress.
ATTACKS SECRET RATES
Roosevelt Says Giant. Octopus Has
Been Holding Up Railroads and
the Peopie-Transmits Gar
fields Report.

President Roosevelt tTlQay tranS-
mitteG to congress the report Of James
r. Garfield, commissioner Of corpora
tions, giving the results of his inves-
tigation of the subject Of transporta-
ton and freight rates in connection
with the oil industry.
In his message the president ex-
presses the view that the report Is
of capital importance because Of the
effort now being made to secure such
enlargement Of the powers of the in
terstate commerce commission as will
confer upon the committee power in
some measure adequate to meet the
clearly demonstrated need Of the sit
uation. That the Standard Oil COM
pany has benefited enormously, up
almost to the present moment, by Sc
cret rates, many of which were clear
" unlawful, the president says the
report clearly shows the benefit there
by secured amounting to at least
three-quarters Of million a year. On
this subject he says:
"This three quarters Of million
represents the profit that the Stand
ard Oil company obtains at the eS-
rense of the railroads; but of course
the ultimate result is that it obtains
much larger profit at the expense OF
the public. A very striking result OF
the investigation has been that short
" after the discovery of these secret
rates by the commissioner of corpora
tions the major portion Of them were
promptly corrected by the railroads
SO that most of them have now been
done away with"
The statement is added that the
department of justice will take up the
prosecution of at least certain cases.
Continuing, the president says:
'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 overwheln-
ing advantage over it's independent
competitors"
Commissioner Garfield finds that the
output of refined oil amounts to about
26,OGU,00o barrels annually, of which
the Standard Oil company controls
about 23,G00,00o and approximately
the same proportion of the other fir
shed products of finished petroleum.
Continuing, the report says:
'The Standard claims that the 10
cation of its redneries and the use OF
pipe lines are natural advantages tc
which it is justly entitled. While in
measure that is true, it must not be
forgotten that these advantages were
in part obtained by means OF unfair
competitie methods after years OF
fierce industrial strife. The develop
raent CT the pipe line system by the
Standard Oil company was the result
Of special agreements with railroad
companies. Furthermore those So
called natural advantages have been
and are being greatly increased by
Determinations in freight rates, which
give the Standard monopolistic con-
troll in the greater portion Of the coun-
try
"An immediate result Of this delim-
itation Of competitive area is shown
by the exorbitant profits shown in the
non-competitive fields"
I'm 1904 the secret rate received
from the railroads saved to the Stand
ard Oil company three-quarters of 4
million dollars, representing the dif-
ference between the open rates and
the rates actually paid.
these determinations" he said
"have been so long continued and SO
secret and so large in amount as 10
make it certain they were due to con-
certeJ action by the Standard and
the railroads"