The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-21
Commissioner Smith VS., The Standard Oil Co.
From the Railway World, January 8, 1903.

evidently recognized as the strongest rebuff
tai argument advanced by the Standard.
In fact, it is as weak and inconclusive as
the remainder of his argument The lines
of the Chicago z Eastern Illinois do not run
into Chicago. They terminate at Doton,
from which point entrance is made over the
Belt Line. Whiting, where the oil freight
originates, is not on the lines of the Chicago
& Eastern Illinois. which receives its Whit
ing freight from the Belt Line at Doiton.
The former practice, discontinued, in
filing tariffs was to make them read from
point on the line of the filing road. and it
was also general to state the same sheet,
that the tariff would apply to other points,
e. g, Whiting. The Chicago & Eastern Ill
nois followed this practice in filing its rate
from Dolton, and making a note the sheet
that it applied to Whiting. That was in 1885,,
when this method of filing tariffs was in
common use.
Now let US see i'm what way the intending
shipper of oil could be misled and deceived
by the fact that the Chicago & Eastern Ill-
nois had not filed a rate reading from Whit
ing. Commissioner Smith contends that
'cOncealment is the only motive for such
circuitous arrangement" /. g, that this
method of filing the rate was intended TO
miSlead intending competitors of the Stan
dard Oil company. Suppose such a pros
pectiVe oil refiner had applied to the inter-
state commerce commission for the rate from
Chicago to East ST. Louis over the Chicago
Eastern Illinois, he would have been in
formed that the only rate filed with the COM
mission by this company was Ga cents from
DoltOn. and he would have been further in
formed. il indeed he did not know this al
ready, that this rate applied throughout Chi
cago territory. So that whether he wished
TO locate his plant at Whiting, or anywhere
else about Chicago. under an arrangement
of long standing, and which applies to all the
industrial towns in the neigh borhood of Chi
cago. he could have his freight delivered over
the Belt Line to the Chicago & Eastern Illi-
nois at BOLTON and transported TO East St.
Louis at a rate of Gk cents Where then is
the concealnent which the commissioner of
corpora tions makes so much of? Any rate
from BOLTON on the Eastern Illinois or Chap
pell on tic Alton, or Harvey on the Illinois
Central, or Blue Island on the Rock Island,
applies throughout Chicago territory to ship
nlents from Whiting. as to shipments from
any other point in the district So far from
the Eastern Illinois fling its rate from Dol
ton in order TO deceive the shipper. it is the
commissioner of corporations who either be-
trays his gross ignorance Of transportation
customs in Chicago territory or relies on the
public ignorance of these customs to deceive
the public. too apt to accept unquestioningly
every statement made by q government Off
cial as necessarily true, although in the
present instance. a careful examination
shows these statements 10 be false.
The final point made by President doffett
that other commodities of character sim
liar to oil were carried at much lower rates
than IS cents. the commissioner of corpora
tons discusses oIiy with the remark that
"the reasonabseness' of this rate is not in
question. The question is whether this rate
constituted discrimination as against other
shippers of oil" and he also makes much of
the failure ef President Moffett 10 produce
before the grand jury evidence of The al