Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1908-02-22

Chicago They terminate at Dolton from which
point entrance is made over the Belt Line.
Whiting, where the oil freight originates is not
on The lines OF the Chicago & Eastern Illinois,
which receives its Whiting freight from the
Belt Line at Doltor The former practice now
discontinued in filing tariffs was To make
them read from point on the line OF the fl
ing road and il was also general 10 state on
the same sheet. that the tariff would apply to
other points. e. e. Whiting. The Chicago d
Eastern Illinois followed this practice in filing
its rate from BOLTON. and making a note on
the sheet that is applied TO Whiting. This was
in 1895 when this method Of filing tariffs was
in common use.
Now let US sec in what way the intending
shipper Of OF could be mised and deceived by
the TACT that the Chicago d Eastern Illinois
had not fled rate reading from Whiting.
Commissioner Smith contends that conceal
ment is the only motive for such circutous
arrangement i. e., that this method of fling
the rate was intended To misead intending
competitors of the Standard Oil Company
Suppose such q prospective oil refineI had APP
piled 90 the Interstate Commerce Commission
10Y the rate from Chicago to East st. Louis
over the Chicago & Eastern Illinois, he would
have been informed that the only rate filed
with the commission by this company wa GH
cents from Dolon. and he would have been
further informed, if indeed he did not know
this already. that this rate applied throughout
Chicago territory. SO that whether he wished
TO locate his plant at Whiting or anywhere
else about Chicago under an arrangement of
long standing, and which applies To- all the u-
dustrial towns in the neighborhood of Chica
go. he could have his freight delivered over
the Belt Line to the Chicago C Eastern Hi
nois at Doton and transported to East ST.
Louis at rate OF Ga ccnts Where then is
the conceament which the Commissioner of
Corporations makes SO much Of? Any rate
from BOLTON On the Eastern Illinois or Chap
pell or the Alton or Harvey on the Illinois
Central, or Blue Island Gn the Rock Island
applies throughout Chicago territory TO ship
monts from any other point in the district
So far from the Eastern Illinois fling It's rate
from DotOn in order TO deceive the shipper
1T is the Commissioner Of Corporations who
either betrays his gross ignorance of Transport
taiion customs in Chicago territory or relies
on the public ignorance of these customs TO
deceive The public too apt to accept unqucs-
tiCnirgly every statement made by Govern
mcat official rs necessarily true. although. as
in the present instance. careful examination
shows these statements to be false.
The final point made by President Moffett
that other commodities Cf n character similar
tn oil were carried At much lower rates than
IS cents the Commits siuner of Corporations
discusses only with lhe remark that the
'reasonableness' of this rate is not in question
The question is whether this rate constituted
q discrimination as against other shippers OF
OIL and he also makes much Of the failure OF
President MoTctt TO produce before the grand
jury evidence of the alleged illegal acts of
which the Standard Oil official said that other