The Nome daily nugget., 1907-11-11
NOME, ALASKA, NOV. ii. 1907.
EXPOSURE OF SOUTHERN pACl FIGS SECRET RELATING
 OPENS SHIPPERS EYES

Interstate Commerce Commissioner Lane has finished his sensational cX- posture of the newest wrinkle in rail- load rcbating and gone on his way to make trouble for law breaking car ricrs elsewhere. Now it is up to United States Attorney Devlin-"Go to Hell" Devlin-to prepare the cases against the responsible officers of the South
 crn Pacific whom the testimony in wolves and press them to trial. If h., is not in a position to do it properly and vigorously somebody else will.
 Commissioner Lane is well satisfied that the testimony taken at the hear ings shows plainly an indictable and punishable granting of rebates 'n inter state business by means of secret re- auctions of rates on business within the state. Wherever this connection is provable there can be no doubt about the procedure against the offenders. This form of rebatng is ingenious. but it does not beat the federal law. There is reasonable assurance that jus tice will be done and penalty eXacted enormous number of cases in which while there has certainly been whole sale favoring of certain shippers by secret reductions of rates. there is no aviaanoa [" sho,s a"r', ~otio" ~r'th interstate business9 Is there any rene dy for the business man who has suf- fered through such discrimination?
 This testimony, including the record furnished by the tissue books" of the exposed carriers, will open the eyes of merchants heretofore at loss to account for the competitors who ap- pcarcd to enjoy conditions no better than their own and yet made profits steady loss. II may be that the statute of 1877 providing for treble damages upon civil judgment establishing just such discrimination will suffice to give the victims of intra state reductions adequate compensation for their losses but that is the business of the suffer- CTS and their lawyers. As for the flu ture, shippers and business men whose enterprises depend on railway carriage of goods and commodities by the Southern Pacific are now sufficiently informed to protect themselves against further injustice. They know now what is the matter and how it can be cured.
 As a matter of course, the company holds itself blamecss. Ii denies that it has ever favored any ship rr to tn, dctriment of any other. It make. the excuse for not publishing it's "special' ard "eXtra special' rates tha tn, re- auctions were to meet water or team Q mpetitiOn and that it dil mot want these competitors to know what it as doing l. denies solemnly that any such secret reductions were used support of these denials the company points to the testimony-the same tes- t'monv in which Commissioner Lane t'cs material for scores of indictments. II all depends on the point of view.
 TO the lay mind it appears that ta" Southern Pacific has been cauef, re. hating in manner most vicious. Among the results of this sySte,, Cali fornia has seen many independent "ji producers and shippers driven out of business by the Associated oil com pany, in which W. F. Herrin. ,hrr counsel for the Southern Pacifi com- pany, holds a large block Of stock It is no secret that officials of the rail-