Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1908-01-29
Commissioner Smith VS.. The Standard Oil CO.
From; tile Rai1way Woy1a, gauaayy 8, 1905.

tory had been guilty. Considering the fact
that 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 wfong-doing may
be interpreted as demand for an elabora.t
tion Of the obvious; but the fact that q rate.
book containing these freight rates for othef
shippers 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
pardoued II he had referred them to various
official Investigations by the Interstate Com.
merce Commission and other departments OK
the Government. 81
we come back, therefore, to, the conclusfon
Of the whole matter; which Is that the Stand.
ard OH Company Of Indiana was fined an
amount equal to seven Or eight times the
value Of its entire property, because its trafhd
department cd not verify the statement OF
the Alton rate clerk, that the si1-cent com.
modify rate on oil had been properly dled
with the Interstate Commerce Commission.
duced at the trial, thst any shipper Of OILS
from Chicago territory had been 1nterfered
with by the eighteen-ceDt rate nor that the
failure OF the Alton to nle its six-cent rate
had resulted in any discrimination against;
any independent shipper,--wc must take this
on the word of the Commissioners OF Cor.
porations and of Judge Lands. Neither Is it
denied even by Mr.. Smith that the inde-5
pendent" shipper of oil, whom he pictures as
being driven out of business by this discrim-5
ination of the Alton, could have shipped all
the oil he desired to ship from Whiting via
Dolton over the lines OF the Chicago anu
Eastern Illinois to East st. Louis. In snort.
President Motfett's defence is still good, ana
we predict will be declared so by the higher
court.
Tho Standard Oil Company has been
charged with ell manner Of crimes and mis-
demeanors. Beginning with the famous Rice
of Marietta, passing down to that apostle OF
uopular liberties, Henry Demarest Lloydts
with his Wealth Against the Commonwealth,
descending by easy stages to Miss TarDeE's
offensive personalities, we finally reach the
neither denths OF unfair and baseless mis-
representation in the report OF the Commls-
sioner of Corporations The Standard mas
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 corpora
tIon is at last dragged to the bar OF justice To-
answer for its misdoings The whole strength
of the Government is directed against it, and
at last, we are told, the Standard OIL CON-
pany Is to pay the penalty Of its crimes, ana;
1t is finally convicted Of having fallea 70
verify the statement Of rate clerk and 49,
forthwith fined prodigious sum, measured
by the car. Under the old criminal law, the
theft of property worth more than shilling
was punishabla by death. Under the inter
pretation OF the Interstate Commerce law
by Theodore Roosevelt and Judge kenesaw4
Landis technical error. OF trafi1c ofhciai
is made the excuse for the conhscation Or aS
vast amount of property.