The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-02-16
GOVERNMENT
GOING AFTER
Mr.. HARTMAN
Prosecutions to Be Instituted
Against Southern Pacific
Railroad and Officials.
SHIPPERS WILL ALSO
HAVE TO STAND TRIAL
COMMISSIONER LANES VISIT TO
CALIFORNIA Productive OF
IMPORTANT TESTIMONY.

Washington, Feb. 15-Prosecutions
are to be instituted by the government
against the Southern Pacific company
and against certain officials of that rail-
way Organization on allegations that
they have paid rebates to shippers.
Information which is TO be a basis
for these prosecutions was obtained by
Franklin X. Lane of the interstate COM
merce commission last autumn in the
course of an extensive inquiry made by
aim into the affairs of the Southern
Racific company
Report of Mr.. Lane.
BY direction of the interstate COM
merce commission, Commissioner Lane
visited the Pacific coast and for several
weeks conducted his inquiries into the
alleged charges of rebating which had
reached the commission. Commission
er Lanes report of his investigation,
including a transcript of the testimony
taken by him i'm a formal hearing as
an interstate commissioner, was. made
public today. The report has been ap-
proved by the commission and tran
script of the report and OF the evidence
adduced at the hearing has been trans
mitted to the department OF justice for
SuCn prosecutions UilutE the law 90
may be warranted"
California Also to Prosecute.
Collateral with the proposed action
by the government, the railroad COM
mission of California has been fur
nished, at its own request, with tran
script of the report and evidence, and
has indicated 20 the interstate COM
merce commission its purpose TO prose-
10 oil 1rinl
mia law that may be shown by the re-
port.
The testimony taken by Commission
eF Lane was VOluminouS and in the
course of the report extensive references
IA the verbatim testimony are made
as basis for the several parag graphs of
the report.
immunity Refused.
One of the particularly interesting
f a lures of the transcript of the evil
dence was developed just at the con-
clusion of the formal hearing, when
Commissioner Lane refused to place on
the witness stand G. W. Luce, general
freight agent of the Southern Pacific
company. as a witness under oath. The
request that Mr.. Luce give sworn tes-
timony in the case was made by p. f.
Dunno, counsel for the Southern Pa
cific company. Commissioner Lane de-
clined to administer the oath to Mr..
Luce because he frankly stated, he did
not wish to accord Mr.. Luce, by admin
istering an oath TO him and taking his
testimony. immunity from prosecution
for violations of the law. He offered to
receive a statement from Mr.. Luce re-
speeding the rebate practices Of the
Southern Pacific company, and enter II
as a part of the record of the case, but
he made it clear that this statement
was not to be made under oath.
Conclusions of MIR. Lane.
In the course of his report, Commits
sioner Lane says that his inquiry was
conducted in san Francisco on the sec
ond, third and fourth days of October,
1907. and that from the evidence ad-
duced he finds
1.-The existence of an extensive sys-
TEN of preferential rates granted GER
tain shippers on interstate business by
the Southern Pacific company. The rec
ord discioses a list Of 108 firms. corpor-
ations and individuals who enjoy what
are known as special inside rates'-less
than the rates published to the general
public-on the movement of certain
designated traffic between points within
the state of California.
THAT such shippers paid the full pub
eished rate in the first instance and were
Allowed the refund on claims which
went through the auditing department
under instructions from the traffic de-
Dartment that such special rates should
zpoiy upon interstate shipments with
out tariff authority.
Amounted to Large Sums.
.aThat such refunds amounted in var
ions months of the years 1906 and 1907
10 from $50. 900 to $4,000 per month.
THAT such refunds given to one
firm amounted to the sum OF S2S.9s4
during the period from Aprh' iSOo'
ne date of the San Francisco hre'
I'm all previous records were de-
Sit lsedl. 10 Sept "a, 1907, and such
refunds to other shippers ranged in
amount from $1S.690 TO S22,25l
That such refunds or discounts
from the regular rates have been con-
Continued on page 2.