Rocky Ford enterprise., 1908-01-31
Commissioner Smith VS.. The STANDARD Oil Go.


Mr. Herbert Knox Smith. whose zeal In tho
cause OF economic reform has been In no wise
abatcd by tho panic which he and his kind did
40 much to bring on. is out with nm answer To
President Monctt, OF the Standard OIL Com.
pany Of Indiana. The publication OF this an
swcr. Il Is oficiaiiy given out. was delayed scv-
cral weeks, for business reasons" because II
was not deemed advisable 10 further excite
the public mind. which was profoundly dis
turbcd by the crisis. Now that the storm
clouds have rolled by. however. tho Commis-
sioner rushes again into the fray.
Our readers remember that tho chief points
IN tho defence Of the Standard OIL Company. ms
presented by President Moffctt. were ID that
the date Of six cents on oil from Whiting to
East 81. Louis has been issued to the Standard
OIL Company as the lawful rate by employees
of the Alton, (2) that the 1s.ccnt rate on alc
with the Int terstatc Commerce Commission wns
q class and not n commodity rate. mover being
intended to apply to oil. t3) that oil was
shipped in large quantities between Whiting
and East st. Louis over the Chicago q East
crn Illinois at 6h cents per hundred pounds
which has been filed with the Interstate Com
mcrce Commission as the lawful rate. and ta)
that tho 1s.cent rate on oil was entirely out OF
proportion to lawful rates on other commodi-
ties between these points OF similar chnr-
acter, and Of greater value. such for example.
as linsecd oil. the lawful rate on which was
eight cents President Monett also stateu tnae
thousands OF tons of freight had been sent by
other shippers between these points under
substantially the same conditions rs governed
the shipments Of the Standard OIL Company.
This defence of the Standard OIL Company
was widely quoted and has undoubtedly exert
ed powerful influence upon the public mind.
Naturally the Administration. which mas
stnkcd the success of its campaign against
the trusts upon the result OF Its attack upon
this company, endeavors to onset this inhu-
cnce. and hence the new delivcrance OF CON-
missioner Smith,
We need hardly to point out that his reout-
tai argument is extremely weak although as
strong, no doubt, as the circumstances would
warrant He answers the points made by fresi'
dent Moffett substantially as follows: " rhe
Standard Oil Company had tranic department
and should have known that the sxcent rate
had not been filed. t2) no answer. t3) the Chi'
cago & Eastern Illinois rate was secret rate
because Il read, not from Whiting. but from
Dolton, which is described as "a village OF
about 500 population Just outside OF Chicago.
Its only claim to note is that 1t has been LOT
many years the point of origin for this ana
similar secret rates" The Commissioner ad'
mits in describing this rate that there was
note attached stating that the rate could also
be used from Whiting.
The press has quite generally hailed this
statement of the Commissioner OF corpora
tions as n conclusive refutation OF what is eVi
IDENTIFY recognized the strongest rebut'a
argument advanced by the Standard.
In fact, It Is as weak and inconclusve as tne
remainder Of his argument The lines OF tne
Chicago & Eastern Illinois do not run into