Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-09-26
.STANDARDD DEF|ESLAW
Evades Interstate Commerce Act
 by FarcicaI Tariffs.
ADMISSION BY C. N. PAYNE.
Through Rates Quoted From Trust Owned Wells to Imaginary Places on State Boundaries - Independents Are Choked Off by Octopus.

Are choked Off by Octopus.
 New York, Sept. 26.-Falling into a trap neatly set for him by Frank B Kellogg, chief counsel for the govern ment, Calvin N. Payne, vice president of the Crescent Pipe Line company and an officer in more of the subsidiary companies of the Standard Oil trust than he cared to admit, startled the trust lawyers at the close of the hear ing by admitting the oil trust was vio- lating the interstate commerce law and the Hepburn act of 1896 in most in genious way.
 He blandly admitted that to evade the law the Standard had established stations on the New York and New Jersey state lines and on the New Jer- sey and Pennsylvania lines since the passage of the Hepburn act. The act requires the Standard as a common carrier to publish it's schedules of oil tariffs at the delivery points. The oil flowed smoothly through the pipes from the Pennsylvania and Lima oil fields to the New York terminal in Bayonne, N. J., for many years.
 After the passage of the Hepburn act, said Payne, the Standard estab- lished at the New York state line a station called Unionville. It is noth- ing more than an iron tank. At the same time the trust built tank on the New Jersey Pennsylvania line which it named Centerbridge. Neither place is on even the most up to date map.
 Pumped From State to State.
 The oil is pumped from Lima to the Centerbridge tank, passes through the tank over the state line into the pipes on the New Jersey side and flows on to Unionville, where it is pumped into the tank on the New York state side. The tariffs required by law are pub lshed only at these tank points. Any independent concern ordering oil must take the tariff from these points and accept delivery there or go without oil. The scheme operates against the inde- pendents.
 For more than a year the oil trust has been beating the interstate con- merce law and the Hepburn act in this way. Kellogg said the scheme was un- questionably in violation of law The information obtained from Payne pleased the government lawyers i'm mensely.
 In conjunction with H. c. Folger, Jr., holder of the Standards stock in the Tidewater companies, Payne prov ed without intending to do so that the Corsicana Oil company of Texas was a Standard Oil company and that its stock appeared on the trusts books in the name of Folger and Payne for the purpose of evading the law. These two men by their testimony laid the real foundation of the proof of the governments contention that the Standard is an unlawful combination in restraint of trade and should be dis solved.
 Consultations In No. 26.
 Folger said he was director of the Standard of New York and general manager of the Pratt refineries in Brooklyn and Long Island City. He denied he was general manager of the Standard refneries or was on any committee of the trust. He confessed he consulted" from time to time with the refinery managers, naming the men. These "consultations" were held in 26 Broadway, the Standard oil building. He kept in his office the rec ords of the work of the various re- fineries.
 Driven into a corner. Folger finally admitted he did have general charge of the refineries and that he 'proba- ply" was the general manager.
 Having pinned the witness down to that truth. Kellogg took up the Corsi- cana property in Texas. Folger admit ted the stock was on the Standard books in the names of himself and c. \. Payne. They took the plant over from the National Transit company, a Standard oil subsidiary. in 1908 That plant had been established in 1896 by J. C. Cullinan. It was built with Standard oil money. furnished by the National Transit company.
 From the books of the Standard the government lawyers obtained the in- formation that there was q charge against FOlger and Payne of S940, ,719. and Folger was asked if he and his partners had borrowed that amount from the National Transit company 10 build the Corsicana plant. .Folger said the money had been so used.