The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1908-01-22
Commissioner Smith VS.. The Standard Oil Co.
From the RoiJvay- World, January 8, 1908.

these shippers included the packers and
elevator men OF Chicago the action of the
grand jury in calling upon President Moffett
to furnish evidence of their wrong-dofng may
be interpreted as q demand for an elaboration
of the obvious; but the fact that a rate-book
containing these freight rates for other ship
pers was offered In evidence during the trial
and ruled out by Judge Lands was kept out
of sight. President Mofett would not, of
course, accept the invitation OF the grand jury
although he might have been pardoned IL he
had referred them TO various Official 1nveStlga-
items by the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion and other departments OF the Govern
ment.
We come back, therefore, to the conclusion
OF the whole matter, which is that the stand
ard Oil Company of Indiana was fined an
amount equal to seven or eight times the
value of its entire property, because its traffic
department did not verify the statement OF
the Alton rate clerk, that the six-cent com.
modify rate on oil had been properly filed
with the Interstate Commerce Commission.
There is no evidence. and none was intro
duced at the trial, that any shipper OF oil
from Chicago territory had been interfered
with by the eighteen cent rate nor that the
failure of the Alton to 6lo its six-cent rate
had resulted in any discrimination against
any independent shipper,-we must take this
on the word OF the Commissioner of Corpora
tions and Of Judge Lands. Neither Is it de-
MED even by Mr.. Smith that the 'independ-
ent'' 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 Whiting via Dolton
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 OH Company has been
charged with all manner of crimes and mis-
demeanorS. Beginning with the famous Rice
of Marietta, passing down to that apostle OF
popular liberties, Henry Demarest Lloyd, with
his Wealth Against the Commonwealth, de-
scending by easy stages to Miss Tarbelrs Of
fensive personalities, We finally reach the
neither depths of unfair and baseless misrep-
resentation In the report of the Commissioner
of Corporations. The STANDARD has been
charged with every form of commercial piracy
and with most of the crimes on the corpora
tion calendar. After long years of strenuous
attack, under the leadership Of the President
of the United States. the cor ~poration is at
last dragged to the bar of justice to answer
for It's misdoings. The whole strength OF the
Governmentiis directed against 1t, and at last,
we are told, the Standard Oil Company is to
pay the penalty of its crimes, and it is finally
convicted of having failed to verify the state
ment of a rate clerk and Is forthwith fined a
prodigious sum, measured by the car. Under
the old criminal law, the theft of property
worth more than a shilling was punishable by
death. Under the Interpretation of the In
~terstate Commerce law by Theodore Roose-
velt and Judge Kenesaw Lands, a technical
error OF a traffic official is made the excuse for
the confscation OF a vast amount Of property.