New-York tribune., 1907-12-30

me grand jury. Instructions from Judge Ian
ois thereupon summoned Mr.. Moffett before it.
ana reported TO Judge Lands October T. in part,
as follows:
He mfr MoffettI also una ble TO give to the
grand jury Information the shipment of
Single pound Of freight except by the Standard Oil
company from the points in question at rate less
'han the lawfully published and filed rate
This remarkable admission by Mr.. Moffett shows
the general value of his defence. He further ad-
rhiued that his Statement" was largely prepared
by his attorney. Moritz Rosenthal.
These fact. of themselves refute completely the
attempted justification of the Alton by means
Oh The Chicago Eastern Illinois s14cent rate and
sho" that one was secret the other.
BLIND BILLING OF SHIPMENTS
But still more significant the conduct of tne
railroads and the Standard in the manner of
handling the scent rate over both railroads. The
standard claims that there nothing secret
about the rate but every waybilI for oil shipped
over the Alton under this rate falsely billed
that is. the waybills showed their face rate
of is cents with the freight charge in each case
computed the waybilI that rate. although the
actual freight charge collected from the Standard
was at the rate of In the contemporaneous
shipments of the Standard over the Chicago
Eastern Illinois road every waybill for such ship
ments was disguised by another scheme, to-W1t, by
being blind bleo"-that is, rate at all was en-
tered the raybill until said waybill reached
the general offices Of the railroad. The first scheme
of false billing required the Justification OF ac-
counts 10 make them balance. The second scheme
OF blind billing entirely concealed the rate Both
schemes had the intended result of keeping the
local freight agent and others outside the general
office In ignorance of what the actual rate was. and
thereby lessenng the chance for outsiders TO learn
of this discrimination in favor of the Standard.
Such falsifying and blind billing is the clearest
proof that there was something Illegal Is any
other explanation possible? In the vast multitude
of Hayblls examined by the agents OF the bureau
OF corporations the offices of the railroads
tring at Chicago no such of false billing or
blind billing found in regard 10 any oil
shipments except in connection with the scent rate
from Chicago TO East St Louis and with two other
Illegal rates oil made by this same Chicago &
Eastern Illinois Railroad
Furthermore the usual method of collecting
freight charges is through the local freight agents
All the collections for oil shipped from Whiting 10
East St Louis both over the Alton and the Chi
cago & Eastern Illinois. were made directly
through the general offices. This also was OF
course, 10 prevent any general knowledge of the
Why were these unique and elaborate measures
of concealment taken If the rates We're lawful?
The grand jury. in the report above mentioned,
refers TO this point also. follows:
THE representatives of the Chicago & Alton
Railway Company stated TO the grand jury that
the case of the Standard Oil Company the only
not been regularly sent to the local freight agent
and that. far they knew, this the only
case in which shipments had been made at rate
less than that named in the lawful tariff
The officers of both these railroads admitted that
this Scent rate secret. One phrased il as
semi private
INDICATIONS OF CoGNIzANCE-
The Standard has made also the ingenious claim
that carefully organized freight traffic depart
ment certainly of the best in the country sup
posed this rate was legal, and that it had no
knowledge that the Alton kept the rate secret.
The Standard knew that the method Of collecting
the freight charges, both by the Alton and the
Chicago & Eastern Illinois, altogether excep-
tional: that it employed only In connection
with this East St. Louis and with two other
similar rates over the Chicago Eastern Illinois.
On the very face of several of the semi-monthy
bills rendered by the Alton to the Standard the
Illegal Scent rate there appeared written evil
dence that the oil being Waybilied at is cents.
that the Standard had notice thereby of the
"false billing if it had not been perfectly
cognizant of it otherwise Moreover the only pos
sible motive for that secrecy which the railroads
admit they maintained regarding this rate
10 conceal it from competitors of the Standard.
and It is inconcevabe that the Standard should
not have known of the practices which Injured
solely to its advantage.
Bearing also such professed ignorance. a series
Of interesting memoranda found by the agents
very Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad. which
memoranda have been quoted in full page 20
273 OF the report of the Commissioner of Cor
porations on the transportation of petroleum, in
May, 1906 These prove that the Standard knew
every detail of the issuance of another contempo-
ranecus illegal from Whiting via Grand juno
this that the traffic manager of the
Standard initiated il, dictated it the railroads.
and arranged for It's secrecy by frequent consulta
tIons with the highest officers Of the road.
Taking still broader view of the situation at the
time these WhIting-St- Louis rates were discov-
ered il is absolutely impossible to impute the
freight traffic department of the STANDARD either
ignorance innocence to any essential facts in
relation to the railway rates on oil. There set
forth in the said report transportation of pero-
leum rates especially fsvorng Standard. either
absolutely secret and Illegal. If technically legal
still preferential and unfair covering large part
the United States. There were the secret and
illegal large part of the South via Grand
Junction, Tenn, similar secret Illegal rates from
Whiting to Evansville, Ind. which large ship
ments the South were made: secret rate COM
bination from St Louis into Louisisna-upon all of
which rates indictments now pending against
the Standard; secret rates from the Standards
flnery at Olean, n. Y. into Vermont, upon which
the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad
has already been convicted and the Standard in
dicted. and various secret rates elsewhere
These rates were all exposed by this bureau in
May 1896 Within three months after that date
every such criticised by the bureau Illegal
had been cancelled by the railroads making the
said rates. This voluntary action of the railroads
themselves than justified the conclusion of
the bureau that there had been in existence for a
long time a system of railway determinations In
favor of the Standard Oil Company in almost every
section of the country.
Considerations like these become highly material
when the STANDARD Oil Company appeals it has
from a question of strict legality a question of
equity and good faith, and claims that in this spe
cihc case though il may have been technically