Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1908-02-14
EARM OPPORTUMITYES
Commissioner Smith VS.. The Standard Oil Go.
From the RatlaOay Io,zd, January ;, ,19oS.

Chicago. They terminate at Do1ton from which
point entrance is made the Belt Line.
Whiting, where the oil freight originates, is not
on the lines of the Chicago & Eastern Illinois,
which receives its Whiting freight from the
Belt Line at Dolton. The former practice, now
discontinued, in filing tariffs was to make
them read from a point on the line of the FL
ing road and 1t was also general to state on
the same sheet, that the tariff would apply to
other points, e.. g., Whiting. The Chicago &
Eastern Illinois followed this practice in filing
it's rate from Dolton, and making note on
the sheet that is applied to Whiting This was
in 1895 when this method of filing tariffs was
in common use.
Now let us see in what way the intending
shipper of oil could be misled and deceived by
the fact that the Chicago C Eastern Illinois
had not filed rate reading from Whiting.
Commissioners Smith contends that conceal
ment is the only motive for such circuitous
arrangement" /. e., that this method Of filing
the rate was intended to mislead intending
competitors of the Standard Oil Company
Suppose such prospective oil refiner had APP
piled to the Interstate Commerce Commission
for the rate from Chicago to East st. Louis
over the Chicago &c Eastern Illinois, he would
have been informed that the only rate filed
with the commission by this company was ga
cents from BOLTON, and he would have been
further informed, II indeed he did not know
Chicago territory. So that whether he wished
to locate his plant at Whiting, or anywhere
else about Chicago. under arrangement OF
long standing and which applies to all the in
dustrial towns in the neighborhood of Chca-
go, he could have his freight delivered over
the Belt Line to the Chicago & Eastern ILL
nois at BOLTON and transported to East st.
Louis at a rate of GA cents. Where then is
the concealment which the Commissioner of
Corporations makes so much of? Any rate
from BOLTON on the Eastern Illinois or Chap
pell on the Alton. Harvey on the Illinois
Central or Blue Island on the Rock Island
applies throughout Chicago territory to ship
ments from any other point in the district
So far from the Eastern Illinois filing its rate
from Dolton in order TO deceive the shipper
it is the Commissioner of Corporations who
either betrays his gross ignorance of transpor
tation customs in Chicago territory or relies
on the public ignorance of these customs tC
deceive the public too apt to accept unques
tioningly every statement made by a Govern
ment official as necessarily true. although, az
in the present instance. careful examination
shows these statements to be false.
The final point made by President Mofet
that other commodities of character similar
to oil were carried at much lower rates thai
Is cents. the Commissioner of Corporation
discusses only with the remark that "th'
ACKNOWLEDGMENT of this rate is not in question
The question is whether this rate constituted
discrimination as against other shippers o
OIL" and he also makes much of the failure
e&President Moffett to produce before the gram
} which the Standard Oil official said that othe