Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1908-02-01

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 wrong-doing NAV
be Interpreted as demand for an elRbora-
tion OF the obvious but the fact that rate
book containing these freight rates for other
shippers was offered in evidence during the
trial and ruled out by Judge Landis, was
kept out OF sight. President Moffett would
not, OF course, accept the invitation of the
grand jury although he might have been
pardoned II he had referred them TO various
official Investigations by the Interstate Com
merce Commission and other departments of
the Governments
We come back, therefore, to the concluslon
OF the whole matter, which is that the Stand
ara OIL Company OF Indiana was fined an
amount equal to seven or eight times the
value OF its entire property, because its traflc
department did not verify the statement of
the Alton rate clerk, that the slx-cent COM
modify rate on oil had been properly filed
with the Interstate Commerce Commission.
mere Is no evidence, and none was intro
duced at the trial, that any shipper of oil
from Chicago territory had been lnterfered
with by the eighteen-cent rate nor that the
failure of the Alton to file It's siK-eent rate
had resulted in any discrimination against
any independent shipper,--we must take this
on the word OF the Commissioner OF Cor
porations and OF Judge Lands Neither IL Il
denied even by Mr.. Smith that the "inde-
pendent" shipper of oil, whom he pictures. as
being driven out of business by this discrlm-
nation of the Alton, could have shipped all
the oil he desired to ship from Whiting via
BOLTON over the lines OF the Chicago and
Eastern Illinois to Hast st. Louis In short
President Mofett's defence is still good, and
we predict Will be declared so by the higher
court.
The Standard Oil Company has been
charged with all manner of crimes and mis-
demeanors. Beginning with the famous Rice
OF Marietta, passing down to that apostle of
popular llberties Henry Demarest Lloyd,
with his Wealth Against the Commonwealth
descending by easy stages to Miss Tarbells
offensive personalities, We finally reach the
neither depths of unfair and baseless mis-
in the report Of the Commits p,
sioner of Corporations. The Standard has
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
lion Is at last dragged to the bar of Justice to
answer for its misdoings. The whole strength
1f the Government is directed against 1t, and
1t last we are told, the Standard OIL Com
)any is to pay the penalty of its crimes and
[ is finally convicted of having failed to
'erify the statement of rate clerk and is
orthwith fined a prodigious sum, measured
~ the car. Under the old criminal law the
heft OF property worth more than a shilling
vas punishable by death. Under the inter
rotation OF the Interstate Commerce law
" Theodore Roosevelt and Judge Kenesaw
.andis, technical error of traffic official
S made the excuse for theyconGscatou Of
asst amount of property. tSs-