The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1908-01-31

Chicago They terminate at Dolton from which
point entrance IS made over the Bot Line.
Whiting, where the oil freight originates, is not
on the lines of the Chicago e. 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 point on the line or the III
ing road, and it was also general TO state on
the same sheet, that the tariff would apply I.
other points, e. g., Whiting. The Chicago a.
Eastern Illinois followed this practice in filing
its rate from Dolton, and making note on
the sheet that is applied to Whiting. Tbs was
in 1895 when this method of filing tariffs was
in common use.
Now let us see in what way the intending
simmer of oil could be misled and deceived by
the fact that the Chicago & Eastern illinois
had not filed rate reading from Whiting
Commissioner Smith contends that conceal
ment is the only motive for such clrcultous
arrangement" i. 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 ap-
p,ied to the Interstate Commerce Commission
for the rate from Chicago to East st. Louis
over the Chicago G 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, if indeed he did not know
this already, that this rate applied throughout
Chicago 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 IN,
dustrial towns in the neighborhood of Chica-
go. he could have his freight delivered over
the Belt Line to the Chicago Eastern ILL
nois at Doton and transported to East 81
Louis at a rate of 6A 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, or 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
q from Dolton in order to deceive the shipper
II is the Commissioner Of Corporations VINO
e either betrays his gross ignorance OF transpor
. tation customs in Chicago territory or relies
q. on the public ignorance of these customs t
n deceive the public too apt to accept unques
Z tonngly every statement made by Govern
, ment official as necessarily true, although, a.
r in the present instance, a careful examination
4 shows these statements to be false
l. The final point made by President Moffet
that other commodities Of a character slnlla
o to oil were carried at much lower rates thal
IS cents, the Commissioner of Corporation
s discusses only with the remark that tn
A. 'reasonableness of this rate is not in question
l. The question is whether this rate constitute
II a. discrimination as against othet shippers Q
OIL" and he also makes much of the failure c
e President Moffett to produce before the gran
e Jury evidence of the alleged illegal acts
q which the Standard Oil official said that othe