The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1906-05-10
MESSAGE
Standard Oil Gets Three Quarters OF
a Million Dollars a Year
in Secret Rebates

ne SENATE and House OF Repre-
| sentatives: i transmit herewith a
report by the commissioner of the
bureau of corporations in the De
partment of Commerce and Labor on
the subject of transportation and
freight rates in connection with the
oil industry. The investigation, the
results of part of which are summar.
lied In this report, was undertaken in
accordance with house resolution 499,
passed February Is, 1905, but for rea-
sons given in the report it has been
more general and extensive than was
called for in the resolution itself.
/ call your attention to The letter
Of transmittal accompanying and
summarizing the report; for the re-
port is of capital Importance in view
of the effort now being made to Sc
cure such enlargement Of the powers
of the interstate commerce commits
sion as will confer upon the commits
sion power in some measure adequate
ly to meet the clearly demonstrated
needs of the situation. The facts set
forth in this report are for the most
part not disputed. 1t is only the in
ferences from them that are disputed
and even in this respect the dispute
is practically limited tc the question
as to whether the transactions are
or are not technically legal. +,
The report shows that the Standard
Oil company has benefited enormous
ly up almost to the present moment
by secret rates, many Of these secret
rates being clearly unlawful. This
benefit amounts to az least three
quarters of million year. This
three-quarters of a million represents
the profit that the Standard Oil COM
pany obtains at the expense of the
railroads; but of course the ultimate
result is that it obtains q much larger
profit at the expense of the public.
i A very striking result of the. in
vestigation has been that shortly
after the discovery of these secret
rates by the commissioners of corpor-
atoms the major portion of them
were promptly corrected by the rail-
roads, so that most Of them have
now been done away with. This I'M
mediate correction, partial or COM
plete, of the evil of The secret rates
is of course on the one hand an &C
acknowledgement that they were wrong
and yet were persevered in until ex-
posed, and on the other hand proof
of the efficiency of the work that has
been done by the bureau of corpora
tions.
The department Of justice will take
up the question of instit;lting prosecu-
tions in at least certain of the cases.
But it is most desirable to enact into
law the bill introduced by Senator
Knox to correct the Interpretation OF
the immunity provision rendered in
Judge Humphreys decision.
The hands of the government have
been greatly strengthened in securing
an effective remedy by the recent de-
cision of the supreme court in the
case instituted by the government
against the tobacco trust, which de-
cision permits the government to ex
anime the books and records of any
engaged in interstate
commerce: and by the recent convic
ton and punishment of the Chicago,
Burlington and Quincy Railroad and
certain of its officers.
But in addition to these secret rates
the Standard Oil profits immensely
by open rates, which are SO arranged
as to give an overwhelming advant-
age over its independent competitors.
The refusal of the railroads in certain
cases to prorate produces analogous
effects. Thus in New England the re-
fusal of certain railway systems to
prorate has resulted in keeping the
Standard Oil in ahSnlllfa mnnnnnlisfin