The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-01-21

Chicago. They terminate at Dolton, Fhich
point entrance is made over the b. LINE
Whiting, where the oil freight originates is not,
on the lines Of the Chicago and Eastern Illinoisr
which receives its'Whiting freight from the Belt
Line at Doton The former practice now dis,
continued in filing tariffs was y make them
read from a. point on the line OF the filing road
and it was also general to state on the same
sheet that the tariff would apply to other points
G. g. Whiting. The Chicago and Eastern Illinois
followed this practice in filing its rate from
Dolton, and making note on the sheet that it
applied to Whiting This was in 1905 when this
method OF filing tariffs was in common use.
- Now let us see in what way the intending
shipper of oil could be mised and deceived by
the fact that the Chicago and Eastern Illinois
had not filed a rate reading from Whiting
Conimissioner Smith contends that "concealment
is the only motive for such circuitous arrange
merit" l. e.. that this method of fling the rate
was intended to mislcad intending competitors
of the Standard Oil Company Suppose such
prospective oil refler had applied to the Inter
state Commerce Commission for the rate from
Chicago to East ST Louis over the Chicago and
Eastern Illinois, he would have been informed
that the only rate fled with the commission by
this company was on cents from Doton and
he would have been further informed. if indeed
he did not know this already. that this rate ap-
Piled throughout Chicago territory So that
whether he wished TO locate his plant at Whit
ing. or anywhere else about Chicago under an
arrangement Of long standing and which applies
10 all the industrial towns in the ncighborhood
of Chicago he could have his freight delivered
over the Belt Line TO the Chicago and Eastern
Illinois, at Dolton and transported TO East St
Louis at rate OF 6H cents. Where then is
the concealment which the Commissioner of Cor
porations makes so much of? Any rate--from
Doltcn on the Eastern Illinois or Chappell on
the Alton, or Harvey on the Illinois Central. or
Blue Island on the Rock Island. applies through
out Chicago territory to shipments from Whit
ing. as to shipments from any other point in
the district So far from the Eastern Illinois
filing its rate from Dolton in order to deceive
the shipper. il is the Commissioner OF Corpora
tions who either hctrays his gross ignorance of
transportation customs in Chicago territory or
relies on the public ignorance of these customs
to deceive the pubic too apt to accept unques
tioningly every statement made by Govern
ment official as necessarily true, although as in
the present instance. a careful examination shows
these statements TO be false.
The final point made by President Mofctt that
other commodities of character similar to oil
were carried at much lower rates than re cents
the Commissioner of Corporations discusses only
with the remark that the 'reasonabeness' 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 OF President Moffett
to produce before the grand jury evidence of the
alleged illegal acts of which the Standard Oil
official said that other large shippers in the ter