Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-06
NO M|NC|NG OF WORDS
PENNSYLVANIA Road Official
RapS Garfield
FOR CERTAIN REFERENCES
In Company's Relations With Stand
ard Oil Traffic.
SOME VERY SHARP CRITICISM
The Commissioners Aspersions De-
clared Inexcuseble and Outrageous
Perversion Of the Facts.
FOR CERTAIN REFERENCES
SOME VERY SHARP CRITICISM

May 6.-N Ice
Thayer of the Pennsylvania Railroad Com
pauy today made the following statement
concerning the report of Commissioner
Garfield in the Standard OIL inquiry:
THE report of Commissioner Garfield. so
far as It refers TO our company In It's rela-
lions with the traffic of the Standard Oh
Company, is an inexcusable and outrageous
perversion of the facts.
1T is true that there has been in effect a
special rate of cents per barrel on oil
from Olean TO Rochester, and 1t has not
been withdrawn. This rate was originally
made in 1883 by the Western New York
and Pennsy lvania railway. twelve years
before the acquisition of that company by
the Pennsylvania railroad. In order to re-
tain to the railroad traffic which would
otherwise have gone by pipe line The traffic
to be transported was crude oil and unfin-
ished products moving from one refinery to
another belonging to the same owners.
Attention was recently called to the
wording Of the tariff which might be con-
s;rued to include refined oil, and perhaps
was so enormously construed and applied
in few instances. insignificant as com
pared with the total traffic. The wording Of
the tariff was corrected So az to clearly
Conhnc the rate to crude oil and unfinished
products thereof, as intended.
No Secret Rate.
1T Is not a secret rate and never has
been secret. The tariff was not fled with
the interstate commerce commission be-
cause it applied TO traffic solely within the
state of New York and tariffs upon such
traffic are never filed with the commission,
whose Jurisdiction covers only interstate
traffic
1T was not made. stated by the re
mort for the purpose of COmhina tion WITH
ut uTOluCg secret. low. through
rate To New England. and was never, to
our knowledge, used for such purposes.
LAS the so-called saving of $1,000 IN
1904 | presume this is based on the dlt-
ference between the special rate and the
regular classification rate This conveys
the impression that large sum of money
was iilegitimately given by the railroad
which In view of the facts above explained
is mauifesty not true.
Reference is made to blind billing
II it We're some secret device This also
IS untrue. The explanation of so-called
blind billing Is very simple: Billing Is
another name used by railroads for mani
Testing. which is a record OF the shipment
made for use only of the railroad COM
pany IN making proper movement OF the
traffic and taking proper account of II.
The public never sees 4 manifest, being In
terested only in the rate the bill of lading
and freight bill
When Term Blind" is Used.
The term blind is used when manifests
are made without the details being shown,
a practice not infreQuent and not peculiar
to the oil traffic. It's purpose is 10 save
clerical work. This was fully explained to
Commissioner Garteld's representative and
II was clearly shown To him, in the case
under discussion that the actual freight
money required by the issued rate was col
lected and retained by the railroad com
pauy.
After an exhaustive examination by the
Department Of Cummerce-Our books and
accounts being freely produced, both on
state and interstate tratttc-it appears that
1he only case that Commissioner Garfield
was able to present for criticism in all our
relations with the Standard Oil Company
is this rate on OIL between Olean and
Rochester. TWO points In the state of New
York a distance of 100 miles apart. at each
of which points are located retineries of
the Standard OH Company, and between
which pipe line could readily have been
constructed.
The Presidents Message.
In the message from the President trans
uniting the report Of Commissioner Gar
Held, reference is made to the relations Of
the railroad TO the so-calIed sugar trust
at New York and the information COM
municated to the President that the So
called sugar trust rarely. if ever pays
the lawful rate for transportation. AS the
Pennsylvania Railroad Company is known
10 participate largely in the carriage of
this traffic Il would necessarily follow that
such information applied TO that company,
and In view OF this it is eminently proper
that answer thereto should be promptly
made on that companys behalf Having
personal knowledge, l deny most positively
and emphatically that such information is
true so far as the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company Is concerned. on the contrary
assert positively that the traffic OF the
so-calIed sugar trust other shipper of
sugar has been carried for many years
past AT the lawful published tariff rate,
and that no rebate or unlawful concession.
direct or indirect has been paid by our
company on this traffic.
1t Is unfair and unjust 20 the President
that he should be mised into believing
that any such condition Of affairs exists as