The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1907-01-31

N EhGEE4HN go
panies reducing prices. The operation
of such fake independent concerns
has been one of The most effective
means of destroying competition. The
standard has habitually reduced tho
price against its competitors In q
particular locality, while maintaining
its prices at other places. When CONF
petition was destroyed it advanced or
restored former prices"
restored former prices. The Standard
has sold different grades of oil at diff
ferent prices from h same barrel. l1
has paid employees of independent oil
companies for information as to the
business of, those competitors and has
paid employees of industrial companies
to secure the addition of its oil in
preferece to that of its competitors.
1t ha sfollowed every barrel of d
pendent oil to it's destination. lts
agents are instructed to secure GUS
toners at any sacrifice. 1t has lamp
cred with the Oil inspectors in differ
ent states. The laws of several states
concerning the inspection of Oil are
s~ingularly defective, and this has been
turned to profit by the standard"
As to Remedies.
On the question Of remedies the re-
port says:
More thar anything else the pipe
line has contributed to the standard
oil monopoly, II its supremacy must
continue until It's rivals enjoy the
same transportation facilities. The
amended act to regulate
makes the existing pipe lines common
carriers subject to that act, and the
power to prescribe just and reasonable
rates, regulations and practices, after
complaint and hearing, Is conferred up
on the commission. But the pipe ltne
tariffs filed with the commission are
alleged to be of no actual advantage
to the independent operators. Tho
commission can only act upon these
schedules after complaint has been
made challenging such reference rates,
| regulations or practices" I,
Some complaints are now pending.
How far the amended act will prove
adequate to the correction of such in
Justice as now exists in respect to this
traffic remains to be seen.
Since in the past petroleum rates
have not always been established to
promote. but often to check traffic, and
the tariffs are more or less p~ermeated
with determinations in favor of he
Standard Oil company, having been
built up during a series of years in that
view, it may be that this discrilnina-
ton will never be eliminated by any
process of complaint against a specific
rate or practice. Judging by the past,
determinations as to this traffic may
arise more frequently than those now
existing can be routed out by that
method. AS to no other improvement
traffic is there an approach 10 the
monopoly of the Standard Oil in that
of oil. Under this condition 1t may h@-
come necessary to the uprooting of es-
tahlished wrongs n the prevention of
others that the government shall fix
in the first instance the rates n reg
ulations for the transportation of this
traffic. This method has been adopted
by the legislature of n state. 1t prob
ably will be found necessary to dis
associate in the case of oil, as in hat
of other commodities, the function of
transportation from that of production
and distribution. What other remedies
in addition to those already provided
it may be necessary to prescribe can be
better determined in the near future by
the results of experience in administer,
ing the present law"