Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1908-01-31

Mr.. Herbert Knox Smith, whose zeal in the
cause of economic reform has been in wise
abated by the panic which he and his kind did
SO much to bring on, is out with an to
President Moffett, of the Standard Oil Company
of Indiana. The publication Of this answer, it is
officially given out, was delayed several weeks,
"for business reasons because it was not
deemed advisable to further excite the public
mind, which was profoundly disturbed by the
crisis Now that the storm clouds have rolled
by, however, the Commissioner rushes again
into the fray
Our readers remember that the chief points in
the defence of the Standard Oil Company, as
presented by President Moffett were, (D that
the rate of six cents on oil from Whiting to
East St. Louis has been issued to the Standard
Oil Company, as the lawful rate by employees of
the Alton, (2) that the I8-cent rate on file with
the Interstate Commerce Commission was
class and not commodity rate, never being in
tended to apply to oil, CD that oil shipped in
large quantities between Whiting and East St
Louis over the Chicago and Eastern Illinois at
six and one-fourth cents per hundred pounds,
which has been filed with the Interstate Com
merce Commission the lawful rate, and (4)
that the I8-cent rate on oil was entirely out of
proportion to lawful rates on other commodities
between these points of similar character, and
of greater value such, for example as linseed
oil, the lawful rate which was eight cents
President Motfett also stated that thousands of
tons of freight had been sent by other shippers
between these points under substantially the
same conditions as governed the shipments of
the Standard Oil Company
This defence of the Standard Oil Company
was widely quoted and has undoubtedly exerted
powerful influence upon the public mind. Nat
uraly the Administration, which has staked the
success Of its campaign against the trusts" up
on the result Of its attack upon this company,
endeavors to Offset this influence, and hence the
new deliverance OF Commissioner Smith.
We need hardly to point out that his rebuttal
argument is extremely weak, although as strong,
doubt, as the circumstances would warrant.
He answers the points made by President Moi
felt substantially as follows: % The Standard
Oil Company had a traffic department, and
should have known that the six-cent rate had
not been filed, (2) no answer, CD the Chicago
and Eastern Illinois rate a secret rate be-
cause it read, not from Whiting, but from Dol
ton, which IS described as "a village of about
1900 population just outside of Chicago Its
only claim to note is that it has been for many
years the point of origin for this and similar
secret rates" The Commissioner admits in de-
scribing 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 Corporations
IS q conclusive refutation of what is evidently
recognized as the strongest rebuttal argument
advanced by the Standard.
In fact It is as weak and inconclusve as the
remainder of his argument. The lines of the
Chicago and Eastern Illinois do not run into