The Washington times., 1908-01-17

ident Moffett TO produce before the grand jury
evidence of the alleged Illegal acts Of which
the Standard Oil official said that other large
shippers in the territory had been guilty. Con
sideriug the fact that these shippers included
the packers and elevator men of Chicago the
action of the grand jury in calling upon Presl-
dent Moffett TO furnish evidence of their wrong
doing may be interpreted demand for an
elaboration of the obvious; but the fact that
a rate-book containing these freight rates for
other shippers offered in evidence during
tie trial and ruled out by Judge Lands, was
kept out of sight. President Moffett would not,
OF course, accept the invitation Of the grand
jury although he might have been pardoned if
be had referred them to various official inyesti-
cations by the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion and other departments of the Government
We come back, therefore, to the conclusion
of the whole matter, which is that the Standard
Oil Company Of Indiana fined amount
equal TO seven eight times the value of its
entire property, because its traffic department
did not verify the statement Of the Alton rate
clerk, that the slX-cent commodity rate on oil
had been properly filed with the Interstate
Commerce Commission There is no evidence,
and none was introduced at the trial, that any
shipper of oil from Chicago territory had been
interfered with by the eighteen-Cent rate nor
that the failure Of the Alton to file its six-cent
rate had resulted in any discrimination against
any independent shipper-we must take this on
the word OF the Commissioner Of Corporations
and of Judge Lands. Neither is il denied even
OF OIL whom he pictures as being driven out of
business by this discrimination of the Alton,
could have shipped all the oil he desired 10 ship
from Whiting via Doltor over the lines of the
Chicago and Eastern Illinois TO East St. Louis.
IN short. President Moffett's defense is still
good, and we predict viii be so declared by the
higher court.
The Standard Oil Company has been charged
with all manner Of crimes and misdemeanors.
beginning with the famous Rice Of Marietta,
passing down to that apostle of popular liber-
ties Henry Demarest Lloyd. with his Wealth
Against the Commonwealth, descending by easy
stages TO Miss Tarbells offensive personalities,
finally reach the neither depths of unfair
and misrepresentation in the report Of
the Commissioner of Corporations. The Stan
dard has been charged with every form of
commercial piracy and with most of the crimes
on the corporation calendar. After long years
Il strenuous attack, under the leadership Of
the President of the United States, the corpor-
alton is at last dragged to the bar Of justice to
answer for its misdoings. The whole strength
of the Government is directed against il, and
at last. we are told the Standard Oil Company
is 10 pay the penalty % its crimes, and il is
finally convicted of having failed to verify the
statement of a rate clerk and is forthwith fined
a prodigious sum, measured by the car. Under
the old criminal law, the theft of property
worth more than a shilling was punishable by
death Under the Interpretation Of the Inter
state Commerce law by Theodore Roosevelt
and Judge kenesaw Landis, a tee hnicaI error
cf a traffic official is made the excuse for the
confscation of vast amount Of property.