Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-05

wholly within the state OF California, over
which, of course, neither Mr.. GarneLd's
bureau nor the interstate commerce COM
mission has any jurisdiction. But in those
cases the alleged rebates were fully ex-
planned to Mr.. Garfield and involved no tur-
pitude whatever 1t was a new business on
the Pacific coast, and before 1t had been
systematized there were overcharges not
to the Standard Oil Company alone but to
every one engaged in the enterprise, which
overcharges were subsequently adjustd.
He says the Standard OIL Company has
habitually received from the railroads and
Is now receiving secret rates and other
unjust and Illegal determinations. 1t Is
hardly fair or manly for him to add the
sentence-'Of course there may be other Sc
cret rates which the bureau has not dis
covered e
The Commission Remiss.
"In dealing with the Determinations
which are alleged to be violations Of the
Interstate commerce law the plain answer
is that If Mr.. Garfield's statement is cor
rect 1t was the duty Of the interstate COM
MERGE commission to have taken action
and brought not alone the Standard Oh
Company, but the railway companies in
volved. to book, and this they have never
done. Violations of the law in this respect
do not fall within the jurisdiction of the
bureau or corporations, and any state
ment on the part OF Mr.. Garfield respecting
this subject is gratuitous and valueless.
Again, he has no control whatever over
state rates. which by the law are put under
the jurisdiction of state authorities, and
over which neither the bureau of COM
merce nor the interstate commerce COM
mission has any control. But, all this aside,
there have been no secret rates nor unlaw-
full discrimination in the interest Of the
Standard Oil Company. Take the case OF
the rate from Whiting to East St. Louis,
upon which he lays SO much stress. While
discussing 1t at great length as an import
ant fnd.' he qualities and explains it all
by the statement that Whiting was a sub
urb of Chicago, within the switching dis
trict' of that city, and that all freight rates
from Whiting had for many years been the
same as those from Chicago.
This practice had obtained for twenty
years and had applied to all kinds of mer-
chandise. and to say that a rate that had
been used thus freely and openly for that
period by every one was a secret rate is
man1festly unfair. Moreover, our oil refin-
cry is the only one at Whiting or within
100 miles of it, SO that this so-called dis
elimination clearly could not have worked
any harm to any competitor shipping Oil
from Whiting or It's vicinity.
Garfield's Charge Unfortunate.
MIR. Garfield's claim that by the use of
low interstate rates the Standard Oil Com
pany gained unfair advantage Is equally
unfortunate. At great expense, we
structed pipe lines from the Pennsylvania
and Ohio oil fields and from the Kansas and
Indian Territory oil fields to Whiting II
our competitors did not do the same thing
shall 1t be said that any one Is unfair who
does not give them the advantage of this
enterprise of ours?
1T Is quite true that having our oil at
Whiting and desiring to transport 1t to
points in the interior of Illinois we used the
state rate. To say that a man in Ohio who
had never expended dollar for q pipe line
to Whiting should be able to transport his
oil to inland town in Illinois over all
rail line at the same rates that we enjoyed
by reason of our pipe lines must appear
vantage because we constructed these pipe
lines? Is the amount invested and the in
terest on that Investment to count for moth
ing? Take two men going to Boston; one
uses an 5000 automobile to go to New
London, and there takes the train. Is he to
have no advantage In rate from the man
who leaves New York and travels all the
way by rail-?
THE case of a shipment from New York
to Vermont, of which mention Is made, is
susceptible of like explanation.
Respecting the use of private cars, of
which Mr.. Garfield makes much 1t is only
necessary to make answer in his own
words. He says that owing to the rela-
lively slow movement of tank cars In the
petroleum oil trade the mileage allowance
or rental does not appear to result in an
excessive profit to the private tank car
owner.
"It is asserted over and over again in the
report that the Standard Oh Company
rates Yet in the same connection 1t is adj.
initted In the report that all of these rates
are covered by tariffs filed with the inter-
state commerce commission precisely as the