The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-18
D., l.. & W. SEEKS INJUNCTION
AGAINST THE VERY INTERSTATE
COMMERCE COW MISSION!
Thst Body Abolished . Rule of the Road
Touching OIL shipments To which q
Firm NJ Oh shippers ObJected--Tho
Railroad Appeals to the Courts.

The Delaware. L~sckswanna and West
en Railroad appeared through counsel
before Judge Lacombe in the United States
Circuit Court yesterday and asked for a
temporary injunction TO restrain the Inter-
state Commerce. Commission from en-
forcing the order granted to Preston a
Davis, dealers in Illuminating oil at rs and
II Steuben street. Brooklyn. The order
Wac granted on December 2. 1909, TO re-
strain the D., l.. Il W. from carrying into
effect new regulations whereby shipments
OF kerosene oil in al cars to terminal
points in New York and Brooklyn were dis
continued. These regulations, Preston a
Davis contend. were instituted mainly
to prevent further shipments Of oil to them
NJ the Clymer street terminal and as such
formed an unjust discrimination against
them.
MIR. Davis said that until M his firm
had bought oil from the Standard Oil Com
pany. In that year il began buying of
independent companies. The mpa
which Supplied the largest amount was thu
Titusville OiICompany at Titusvilie. Pa. The
firm approached the Delaware and LackA-
wanna to make arrangements for ship
ments from Titusville to the Clymer street
terminal Such arrangements were made
without difficulty and the agreement lasted
Tor three years and nine months. or until
October Is. 1903. when the railroad an
nOunced its new regulations shutting OF
the shipments TO Preston A Davis. The
railroad based this action on the ground
thai It's own property as well AS that Of
~neighbors was endangered by the dripping
Of oil from the cars while they were un-
loaded into the tank wagons. These
drippings, the road asserts, made an oil
soaked area Of ~ feet long and 10 feet wide
which presented a constant danger.
In opposing yesterdays motion Henry
A. Powell. counsel for Preston 4 Davis.
charged that the Standard Oil Company
i~nstigated the new regulations. There
existed an old agreement between the
Dela ware and I.ackawanna and the Stand
ard Oil Company known AZ the trunk
line agreement which prevented any ship
ments OF oil TO companies in New York and
Brooklyn except through subsidiar COM
panies OF the Standard Oil. This agree
ment has been more or less ignored in recent
years, and when Preston a Da Wis aske the
Della ware and Lackawanns TO handle their
shipments u readily agreed to DO so. But
when the Standard Oil became aware OF
this II called the roads attention to the old
agreement and asked that 1t be carried ont.
The road at frat refused, but finally in
divers ways, il liz alleged. the STANDARD Oil
brought the road around and the result,
Preston a Davis say, was the new regula-
tons.
Preston 4 Davis contend that there
could he absolutely no danger of fire from
the alleged drippings Of oil, that such drip
pings did not amount TO more than one
third Of a quart a day, and that the oil
soaked area could not possibly be ignited
under a heat influence OF less thar $50 de-
grees; in short, that these allegations were
made to cover the real reason for discon-
tinuing the shipments.
Judge Lacombe reserved decision.