The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-16
Southern Pacific Road Is Pro-
 nounced Gully
COMPANY HAD INSIDE RATE
Commissioner Franklin Lane Returns From Trip To California With Complete Evidence Against
 the Southern Pacific.

Washington October 15.-That rebates on charges for shipments of freight have been paid by at least one great railroad system since tho enactment of the Hep burn rate act was ascertained definitely by Commissioner Franklin K. Lane. of the Interstate Commerce commission, on his recent. -trip to the Pacific coast. The offending line is the Southern Pacific. controlled and practically owned by E. H. Hartman.
 The evidence of this violation of the law was adduced at a hearing before Commissioner Lane, acting for the com mission, In San Francisco. It was devel- oped that some rebates had been paid on interstate shipments of freight, but that the bulk of them were paid on intra-state shipments It was admitted by officers of the company on the witness stand that the Southern Pacific had a regularly or ganized rebating system, covering state business from one end of California to the other
 The evidence showed that the refund of money in rebates during the past year aggregated about $50oooo. Many of the items on which the rebates were paid were interstate shipments.
 It was disclosed, too, that the company had what is known as an inside rate that is rates were less than the regular published tariff rates intended for the use of the general public These inside rates were given by the Southern Pa cific to favored shippers.
 Commissioner Lane has just returned from California. and has not submitted his report to the Interstate Commerce commission. But this evening he author ized the following statement bearing upon his investigation:
 "We found in the Southern Pacific's of fees a list of shippers who paid but a proportion of the published rate upon state shipments. This list includes many of the largest and most important manu- featuring concerns. We also foun1 twen. ty ho1ss s9hieh had accumulated n ce the ire ~ last year. showin special l,Dates. These refunds in all amounted to about half a million dollars during the past year.
 Ut must not be understood however that the great body of these or any con- siderable percentage of them were refunds upon interstate shipments.
 q do not regard the revelations in Cali fornia as indicative of settled policy by tLe roads to evade the law. On the con trary, I believe that the roads of the country generally are making a very serious effort to comply with the require ments of the law.
 'The hearing In California demon- strated beyond all question the necessity for regulation for the railroads, which will not, or cannot, without the help of prohibtory Legislation. make and enforce uniform rates to all shippers. It is not true that all relating upon intersta te shipments has been stopped The old method of giving direct return of DOT ton of the rate has been abandoned very generally, but the railroads themselves will grow in time to see the wisdom and benefit coming to them from the strictest enforcement of the law"
 MT. Lane said that no facts were devel- oped al any of the hearings on the Pa cific coast connecting MT. Hartman with any knowledge of rebates given by his subordinates.