The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-01-02
STANDARD OIL EvADES,
IS REPLY OF SMITH
Corporations Commissioner,
Answering Trusts Allegations.
Says It JuggIes Words.

Washington, Jan. 1,-CommissioneI
OF Corporations Herbert Knox Smith
has issued a statement in answer 70
the allegations OF Standard Oil on
corning its conviction in Chicago for
accepting concessions on shipments
over tho Chicago n Alton. In this
document the commissioned delivers q
crushing blow at the arguments OF the
oil trust. His statement In full fol-
lows;
On August 3. 1907, at Chicago, the stand
Ard OIL Company OF Indiana was fined
$z9,24O.000 for the violation OF the Elkins
a~nti-rebate law. This was the so-called
Alton case" Various statements have
since appeared. one in particular signed
by the president OF that company, James
A.. Mofett, others in the public press. and
also a series or confidential circular trade
alettevs."' all e~ndeavoring TO throw doubt
on the legality and equity of that convic-
TIE report of the commissioner OF cor
poratdons on the transportation or pc
troteuIn: published I'm May, 1906. on which
this and all other pending rebate indict-
ments OF the Standard Except one) were
based. set forth In detail the deliberate.
Icing continued conduct on the part OF the
But these recent statements nave made Il
necessary to show once more that the
transactions which form the basis OF this
az the very a. l ae'G aMa s WerS s of ab &c EIsiS.
ahtl-rebate law and of the policy OF con-
gress In forbidding unfai-ness as between
4 shippers.
Against a Secret Rate.
The question in this case was one of a
published iS-cent rate to East st. Louis,
ms against a secret scent rate. The oil
shipments involved In his SPECIALIZED al
tor" conviction started from Whiting.
Ind, the great refinery OF the Standard
near Chicago, and were delivered at St
Louis. Mo-, or at East st. Louis, ILL.,. Just
Chicago and Alton railroad. They covered
!. P Psos. from september J. 1868 to March
The law REQUIRES that all Interstate rail-
way rates be filed with the Interstate
commerce commission. During this en-
tire time there was o N file with the In
~terstate Commerce commission a joint
'tarif' or rate sheet to which the Alton
road was n party, showing tina the rate
on hfth-class freight from Whiting and
Chicago to East st. Louis was Is cents
includes petroleum oil. This joint tariff
was a large printed document distributed
to many shippers OF all sorts of freight.
During the time so stated. 1852 cars OF
oil were carried from Whiting, Ind, to
East st. Louis over the Alton road for the
Standard Oil company at the rate of G
cents per hundred pounds, just one-third
secret 6-cent rate had been used by the
Stapdard Oil company. and by no one
else. for many years prior to this period.
~ "oS " illCu Will the Interstate Conn
merce commission and was absolutely
secret and unknown to independent oil re-
hners, or to shippers generally.
Mere Question Of Words.
The said statement of James A. Moftett
uses the Following remarkable language:
1T must be borne in mind tina there
10 no question of rebate or discrimination
in this case" ~. "
mere question Of words. Apparently the
position of Mr.. Moffett Is that II ne had
actually paid the Alton railroad is cents
per hundred pounds and received back IL
cents, so as to make a net rate of 6 cents,
this would have been a rebate" But,
that, because the lawful rate was IS cents
and his company only paid 6, and the bal
ance u2 cents) never physically passed
back and forth between his company and
the Alton railroad, although the result
was exactly the same, IL was not a ire
bate; This statement is simply an
The other proposition Of Mr.. MoRett is
that there was no discrimination in this
case" Apparently his position Is that,
because no one else is known to have
paid the published lS-cent rate from Whit
Ing to East st. Louis while his company
was paying 8 cents, therefore there was no
discrimination On the contrary, this very
situation proves that not onIy was there
discrimination, but that this discrimina-
ton had worked out its logical results,
80 tina no one else could ship at IS cents
rate. Precisely this, and other secret dis
examinations in shipments from Whiting,
produced that completes state OF monopoly
in the vicinity of Chicago which the
STANDARD now calmly d~esignates as abb
sence of discrimination"
Severe Discrimination.
This Scent Alton rate was a rebate" in
essence, IL not In form, and both In es-
sence and in form IT was a discrimina-
ton OF the most severe and successful
The STANDARD Oil Company Of Indiana
rate on two grounds. It admits that the
6-cent rate over the Alton railroad was
never filed with the Interstate Commerce
commission. as the law required. But the
Standard tries to remedy this fatal defect
by referring to a certain application
sheet" which was on file with the COM
mission. This sheet merely stated that
from Whiting, enumerated the tariffs re-
ferred to by II, and named specifically the
tariff containing the 18-cent OIL rate: but
killing Order" containing the scent rate
nor did It give any information as to any
scent rate on oil. OF course, this sort of
thing was absolutely no notice to any
was 1t Intended to be,
But the chef ground upon which the
STANDARD defends itself Is the so-caIled
Chicago and eastern illinois rate The
claim is that while the shipments of oil
were going on at 8 cents over the Alton
railroad there existed at the same time
ONST the SHlCaBO anu EdSIeFn ILLINOIS, rail-
road a rate OF ga cents from Whiting TO
East st. Louis. The Standard claims that
this 6k-cent rate was q legal rate, and
that therefore, inasmuch as the Standard
could have shipped all its oil at this al
legged legal rate over the Chicago and
Eastern Illinois. IL was justified In ac-
cepting a like rate over the Alton, and
thus that even if these shipments over the
Alton were technically illegal there was
no moral wrong about them.
An Additional Wrong.
So far from this Chicago and eastern
Illinois rate being a Justification for the
Alton shipments, IL was an additional
wrong In itself. The Chicago and eastern
Illinois rate was quite as secret as the
Alton rate and was merely one more in
stance OF the ingenious and deliberate at
tempts of the Standard to evade, or VIC
late with impunity, the whole spirit of the
antl-discrimination law.
Tho facts as 70 this 'justifying" rate
are as follows: In October, 1895, the Chi
cago and Eastern Illinois railroad filed
with the Interstate Commerce commission
a single mimeograph sheet stating that
the rate, on oil from Dolton, H., to East
st. Louis was 81 cents per hundred
pounds. There IL M ayidanra that tb,s