The Boise citizen., 1908-01-17
STANDARD OIL REBATES
SUMMARY OF THE POINTS AT ISSUE AS GIVEN
BY EACH Side TO CONTROVERSY

the big fine Of the Standard Oil Company than any other pub
caon that has table, and present of the
subject worthy of being filed away by those who wish keef
such valuable information hand That journal says:
When the Standard Oil Company of Indiana fined twenty
million dollars the violation of EIn Its officials
appealed public opinion against the justice of the conviction The
principal appeal made in by Mr.. James Mofett
the president Of the Indiana company which reported in the
Outlook shortly after its appearance The commissioner of copo
collected the material which the indictment
based has issued in reply the allegations OF
will be remembered that the charge which the
Standard convicted that of having accepted from the Chi
cago Alton railway of hundred pounds oil
shipped Whiting Indiana East St Louis Illinois, when
only openly published and filed with the interstate
commission therefore the only legal eighteen cents
The allegations of the Standard be briefly summarized as fol
lows:
question of rebate discrimination in the
merely question whether the cent rate legal
2. Six open legal oil from Chicago to
Louis application sheet extending this rate to
Whiting had actually been filed with the interstate
mission
8 During the two years by the indictment the Chicago
Illinois railroad had lawful published and filed rate
between Whiting and East St Louis OF SIX and quarter cents
and the Standard shipped thousand of oil year
that road Therefore the Standard could have had
motive for shipping the Alton illegal rate.
Other products carried between the points during
the period rates ranging from five to ten cents hundred
pounds Therefore the six-cent reasonable
The Standard advised by the clerk OF the Alton
that the xcent had been filed with the interstate
illegal
THE COMMISSIONERS REPLY
Commissioner Smith replies these arguments in statement
which may be summarized as follows:
Mofetts be that there rebate
because the Standard actually pay the higher and have
the twelve hundred pounds actually returned to
it in money This merely evasion the rate constituted re-
bate in essence He hold that there no
discrimination known have paid the eighteen
cent rate contrary this very situation proves that not only
was but that this discrimination had worked
out its logical result by producing complete state OF monopoly
in the vicinity of Chicago.
The application sheet merely stated the from
Chicago should apply Whiting enumerated the tariffs to
which referred and named specifically the tariff containing the
ghteercent rate mention of the unified special
billing order containing the slcent rate % course TINS sort OF
thing absolutely notice to OF the Unpublished SIX
cent rate nor was intended to be-
g. The Chicago and Eastern Illinois rate was not only no
justification the Alton shipments but additional wrong
in itself quite secret the Alton rate 1t was contained
in single meogaph fed with the interstate COM
mission giving oil from Doton Illinois, to East St LOUIS
of six and one-auarter cents; indicated that the might
also be used from Whiting evidence that this sheet
ever distributed to any shipper except the Standard Doton IS
town of insignificant outside Chicago Its only claim to
note that for years the point OF origin or tins and
similar secret rates still further concealed
by the filing eigheencen tariff which the Alton had
and this rate only which could TO the notice OF
the ordinary shipper
The question is not one of reasonabeness of the
+ . Question Is whether this rate constituted discrimination
s AGAINST other shippers of refneries Chicago and else
where were not viay concerned in the rates popcorn MI
Moe also in his statement that thousands OF tons OF
freight have shipped these points during the last fifteen
wears under the same circumstances Standard shipments He
was hereupon before the grand jury and unable
10 slbstanate this statement by definite information single
pound freight shipped by the Standard at rate less than
lawful This remarkable admission OF MI aoet SHOWS
the general value of his defense.
s. Every way-b oil shipped the Alton was falsely
billed" showing face of eighteen cents although the
collected from the Standard was SIN cents On the