The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-03-01

I
follow such a course"
Coleman Waiting for Information.
Attorney General Coleman when
asked for statement said:
know nothing whatever about this
matter except what I read in the
morning papers. Consequently don't
care to express any opinion"
the courts ?''
Il couldn't express any opinion
about the matter
Standard Oil Attorney Here.
Earl Evans, attorney for the Stand
ara Oil company, one of the firm of
Stanley, eVermillion & Evans, was in
topeka today Asked concerning the
proposed increase in oil rates he said:
The Standard Oil company had
nothing to do with this movement. The
standard has been getting the benefit
OF the low rates, and would have no
disposition to change. If we had the
power to control rates on railways, a
some people seem to think we have we
certainly would not be building pipe
lines to transport the oil
n. H. LOomis Makes Statement.
n. h LOOMS. attorney for the Union
Paclf1c railroad, this morning made the
following statement:
Ihe railroads are considering the
adVlsabllity of taking out the tart e. on
oil based on the maximum rate bill
E--7eN0 ~ AAAC legislature last winter.
because they are not compensatory.
The rates on refined Oil are ridiculous
~ low, and in many instances compel
the railroad companies to handle it for
less than 1t actually costs to make out
the way bills and audit the accounts
In many instances the compensation
fixed by law for the carriage of oil is
not SUFFICIENT to pay the actual cost of
handling the packages at terminal
points. Railroads can be compelled TO
Of oil 4f,4- low
the compensation fixed is less than one
cent. For instance, it is not unusual
to ship oil in 4 gallon cases. There are
61s to Z pounds in a gallon. Including
the package the weight of a 4 gallon
case would be about 40 pounds The
compensation fixed by law for hauling
this oil miles over a single line is
2.5 cents per cWt. That would make
the charge under the law for that dis
lance one cent. We could be compelled
to haul a gallon of oil the same dis
tanee for about one-fourth of a cent.
Take another instance. We get 10
cents for hauling a barrel of oil miles;
IA cents for hauling it 10 miles; 20 cents
for hauling it 40 miles. These amounts
do not compensate the railroad COM
pany for handling the oil at terminal
points and for making out the necessary
way bills and auditing the accounts.
On q 40 mile haul, where q barrel Of oil
must be transferred from one railroad
compensation fixed by law is 26 cents.
So it can be seen that the compensate
fixed by law wound Tot pay the trans
FER charges for hauling tie Gil from one
railroad to the other. The rate fixed
bv law includes all the charges which
a railroad company. is entitled to make
for hauling the oil from one station TO
another within the state. No distinc-
ton whatever is made between OIL n
car load lots and less than car load lots'
H.. oil
ct has been given out that the act
was passed as a blow at the standard
Oil company. AS q matter OF TACT more
than Is per cent of the oil Lauled under
this new tariff is carried for the stan
dard Oil company, and the benefits de-
rived from the low rates ere Delng ell
ioved by that company at the expense
Of The railroad companies. For IN
stance. on February 26, Last, the Union
pacific bauled two barrels one keg ard
90 oaD Of OH from Topeka to Perry,
a distance of IS miles, end got as COM
De7sation therefor the mrEihcent sum
of y cents. c1.4.7
AN article clipped from the Capital
within the past month SHOWS tha9 1h .7
refined products of a barrel of crude OH
are worth about $500; that the cost OF
crude oil and the expense OF -reIlnl llss
are about rs cents, leaving net pIont
of 1926 per barrel. If tins IS true II -
NOT unfair to ask the rallroads 10 Aat4
oil for less than the acpual cos1 u
handling?"
w. F. Rightrnire's Views.
w f Rightmire, until recently the
general attorney and field manager TOT
he Uncle sam Oil refinery, the biggest
of the independent concerns, To-Day
made the following statement;
1T makes no difference what acLoh
the railroads may take in the matter
of freight rates, the people OF Kansas
who have had a chance to use indie
pendent oil can never be won pack 70
fhe 11se of the Standard. oil. even If 1t
costs them far less than the independ-
ent oil Before the Independent re
fneries entered the Kansas market, II
was supplied with a very low grade OIL
that would just pass inspection OF I4O
degrees flash test, and even then II had
not been desulphurized, but was of
dirty yellow color. smoking freely and
giving a very poor light When the
INDEPENDENT refneries entered the
market they at once put out hlgh
grade oil, and have put no poor oil
on the market. forcing the Standard
to give the same quality. AS Missouri
and Oklahoma and the other near by
states require a test of 80 degrees the
Standard has had to depend upon the
Kansas market TO dispose OF It's low
grade oil, and raising the quality of
Kansas oil by the Independents. has
caused the loss of the market for low
grade oil in Kansas which to the
Standard company. is of far greater in
jury than the competition in the sales
in the few cities and towns where the
have established dis
tributing stations.
while this attempt of the railroad cor
porations to throttle the state Of Kansas
of some refners and oil producers. vet If
the legal department of the states does its
duty no harm car come from such an or
der advancing oil rates and defying the
law-making power of the state IF the
attorney general. as soon as the rate is
promulgated. viii bring Injunction pro-
ceedings against every railroad of the
state. enioining and restraining such
roads from putting the rate into effect,
the maximum rate law viii be in force
and govern oil rates until the court Of
last resort decides the law to be uncon-
stitutional- and bv that time a new legis-
lature will be in session to provide other
laws
Il am elad this action has been taken
now as it brings the square Issue before
the people of the state Shall the people