The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-02
Country Is Under Influence of Out
 break of Socialistie Hysteria.
From Leslie's Weekly.

From Leslie's Weekly.
 Can the public deal fairly with rail- road or an industrial corporation while the whole country is under the influence of an outbreak of sociallstlc hysteria? Chancellor Day. of the Syracuse univer- sty. has been assailed for daring to criticise the recent verdict of federal court in Chicago against the Standard oil company. This company was found guilty of accepting rebates from the AL ton railroad, covering over a thousand shipments and making it liable to fine of from GOO to $30,000000. There were about four hundred more counts in the indictment, which the court felt obliged. at the very outset, to strike out, be- cause of lack of proof or mistakes. Ev- cry shipper in the United States and every thoughtful. fair-minded man en- gagged in any business enterprise, should take the trouble to understand the facts of this case and judge whether or not Chancellor Day was justified In his cau- stic criticism of the court. Every ship per has an interest in this matter, be- cause he may some day become the vic- tim of similarly unfortunate circum- stances.
 The Standard OH has been shipping oil from Whiting to East St. Louis over the Chicago and Eastern Illinois railway at the legal rate of six and one-quarter cents per hundred pounds. It was also shipping over the Burlington road at the same rate. It could have shipped all it's products at this rate over these lines- The Alton sought some of the traffic, and offered to take it on the same basis as the company was paying the Chicago and Eastern Illinois. and on this basis the rate on the Alton was six cents per hundred
 CorpsaI for tba Standard Ou cononanv offered in court, before Judge Landis. to prove that the rates on the Chicago and Eastern Illinois and the Alton roads were made on the same basis, and that the company could have shipped all its oil over the former road. and that this was conclusive proof that it could hava had no motive for asking special rates from the Alton. Judge Jandis held that what the Standard oil did, or could do. with one road had nothing to do with ita acceptance of a rate from the Alton that mad not been filed as the legal rate with the interstate commerce commission. The Alton had given the oil company the six cent rate, but the judge charged the jury that no matter if this rate had been given, the defendant should have ascertaned whether it was the rate for mally and officially published and filed with the Interstate Commerce commis- sion at Washington. According to this,
  a railroad freight agent for rates, accept what is given and believe them to be lawful, only to find that he has been guilty of an offense punishable by a fine of $20, 600, because a higher rate had been officially filed at Washington. The shipper might have had no intention to violate the law. but that would make no difference.
 This Is not all The Standard oil com pany's freight agent paid the rate charged by the Alton. but 1t was held that tho legal rate which the Alton had estab- lished years before, was eighteen cents per hundred, though 1t was shown that this rate had become obsolete and that the present reorganzed Alton railway had never used It. II was shown that it was all unreasonable rate because the Alton charged only seventeen cents per hundred from Toledo to St. Louis, which was twice the distance from Whiting to East st. Louis, on which the six-cent rate had been paid by the Standard oil.
 Judge Landis, for some inscrutable req son, would not permit these facts to go before the jury, and stated that 1t made no difference what other roads charged, that the Alton's only published rate was eighteen cents, and that the freight department of the Standard oil company was supposed to know this and should not have accepted a lower rate from the Alton, even though this was the rate 1t was paying legally on the two other roads with which it was doing most of the business. This is an astonishing ruling, and, if it should be sustained by the higher courts, 1t will be crime for a shipper to accept a rate given him by freight agent if it be proved subsequently by some muck-raker that this was not the rate filed with the in- terstate commerce commission at Wash ington. Further, it will be a crime for A shipper who has a rate on one line between certain points, to ship via. som. other line at this rate. when his shlr ments are invited by another road, if be subsequently, discovered that an o' soete tariff. at much higher rate. been filed at Washington and fallen disuse
 The conviction of the Standard Oi pany at Chicago has been cited prove the statement publicly m; Mir. Archbold and Mir Rogers, tw directors, that the company has guilty of relating since the S depreciation of the law some ye That these gentlemen were jus making this statement, in spit, decision in the Chicago case, Is serted for 1t Is confidently bell the higher courts must overru cant decision