The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-01-21
5ndard Oil Co.
From tie Rai'''ey Ho''lA r. 1905.

ritory had been guilty. Considering the fact
that lhese shippers included the packers and
90 @lnen of Chicago the action of the grand
Se.-calling upon President Moffett to furnish
evidence of their wrong doing may be inter
Spreted as demand for an elaboration Of the
obvious but the fact that rate-book contain
ing these freight rates for other shippers was
offered in evidence during the trial and ruled
out My Judge Lands was kept out of sight.
PresiSe Moffett would not, of course, accept
the initiation of the grand jury although he
might have been pardoned il ne had referred
them to hrious official Investigations by the
Interstate Commerce Commission and other de
partments on the Government
We come back therefore. to the conclusion Of
the Whole matter which is that the Standard
Oil Company of Indiana was fined an amount
equal to seven or eight times the value OF IFS
entire property, because its traffic department
did not verify the statement of the Alton rate
clerk. that the six-cent commodity rate on oil
had been properly filed with the Interstate Com
merce Commission. There is no evidence, and
none was introduced at the trial, that any ship
per of oil from Chicago territory had been inter
fered with by the eighteen-cent rate that
the failure of the Alton to file its six-cent rate
had resulted in any discrimination against any
independent shipper-we must take this on the
word of the Commissioner of Corporations and
OF Judge Lands Neither is it denied even by
Mr.. Smith that the independent shipper Of OIL
whom he pictures as being driven out of business
BY this discrimination of the Alton, could have
shipped all the oil he desired TO ship from Whit
ing via bolton over the lines of the Chicago and
Eastern Illinois to East ST Louis. In short
President Mofett's defence is still good, and we
predict will be so declared By the higher court
The Standard Oil Company has been charged
with all manner of crimes and misdemeanors.
Beginning with the famous Rice of Marietta,
passing down to that apostle of popular liberties.
Henry Demarest Lloyd. with his Wealth Against
the Commonwealth descending by easy stages to
Miss Tarbelps offensive personalities, we finally
reach the neither depths of unfair and baseless
misrepresentation in the report of the Commits
sioner OF Corporations. The Standard has been
charged with every form of commercial piracy
and with most of the crimes on the corporation
calendar After long years of strenuous attack.
under The leadership of the President of the
United States, the corporation is at last dragged
to the bar of justice to answer for its misdo-
ings The whole strength of the Government is
directed against it, and at last, we told, the
Standard Oil Company is to pay the penalty c
its crimes, and it is finally convicted of hav'
failed to verify the statement of a rate
and is forthwith fined a prodigious sum,
ured BIZ the car. Under the old crimir
the theft of property worth more than ;
was punishable by death. Under the
ton OF the Interstate Commerce law
dore Roosevelt and Judge Kenesaw
technical error of traffic official is
excuse for the conhscation of a vasts
property. r4.lstfA .uA