Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1908-01-09

So, N"''A a. hAS ''h'V ~ oetI II't III
Whiuns. But no independent shipper who
wanted TO ship oil from Chicago or Whit
ne To East st. Louis or ST. 'ouis would
ever think of looking FOR j rate from Dol
ION l>olton is a village OF about l,5Do
lopli'ati"u Just outside of Chicago. Its
"nlN clam of note is thai it has been for
many years the point of origin for this
ana similar secret rates. Comcealm.nt is
jh' only moiiv. for such a circuitous ar
ransement. Such was the obscure origin
ana character of this "Justifyine" rate.
Further C~oncealment.
Furtherfore. about four years later. in
May, 1879. the Chicago and Eastern Illinois
railroad still further concealed the exist
rMce OF TINS already obscure BOLTON rate
ih-oent tarin. already mention. to which
the Alton was also a party. This lS-cent
taiin was the only oil rate on the Chicago
and eastern Illinois which could ever come
to the notice of the ordinary shipper. Thus
during this period the only Justification
Tor me Standards claim that there was a
icsa! o.t-cent rate over the Chicago and
Eastern Illinois. lies in this i~nconspicuous
N'iieosraph sheet OF 1898 which read from
l'olton. which was concealed further by a
conspicuous ls-ceni rate, and which was
never distributed or made public. And, as
a matter OF fact. liz other shipper knew
OF any 8 or 81. cent rate. Although such
knowledge would have been very import
ant III mitigation of the fine. the STANDARD
made no attempt TO prove such knowledge
IN the trial of the Chicago case.
Mr.. Moffett. however. in his said state
49, was HiiLcttuudtt enough 10 make the
claim tina thousands of tons of freight
nave been shipped from these points dur
ins the last fifteen years under the same
circumstances as the Standard ship
mlents
A Remarkable Admission.
ne grand jury, on instructions from
Judge Lands. thereupon Mr..
Moiiett before it. ana reported to Judge
i-ailuis on October 4. i'll part. as follows:
tie (Mr. MoffetD was also unable to
give TO the grand jury Information as to
me stipinent OF u single pound of freight
except by The Standard Oil company from
the points In question at a rate less than
The lawfully published and filed rate"
inns remarkable admission by MIR. Mof-
tense. He further admitted that his
statement was largely prepared by his
attorney, Moritz Rosenthal.
These facts of themselves rcfute COM
pistely the attempted Justification OF the
Alton rate by means of The Chicago and
Eastern Illinois 64-cent rate. and show
tnat one was as secret AS the other.
Falsely Billed.
But still more significant was the con-
duct of the railroads and the Standard In
the manner of handling the scent rate
oyer both railroads. The Standard claims
that there was nothing secret about the
rate. But every waybilI for oil shipped
over the Alton under this rate was false
ly~ billed"-that Is. the waybills showed on
.helr taco "A rate of Is cents. with the
freight charge in each case computed on
the waybili at that rate, although the
actual freight charge collected from the
Standard was at the rate OF . cents. In
inc conte!. .'oraneous shipments of the
Standar over the Chicago and Eastern
Illinois road every waybill for such ship
nlents was disguised by another scheme.
to-wit. by beng blind billed"-thati is, no
rate at all was entered on the waybill
until the said waybill reached the general
offices OF the railroad. The first scheme
ton of accounts to make them balance.
The second scheme of blind billing en-
tirely concealed the rate. Both schemes
mad the intended result of keeping the
local freight agent and others outside the
general office in ignorance OF what the
actual rate was, and thereby lessening
discrimination in favor of the Standard.
Such classifying and blind billing is the
clearest proof that there was something
illegal. Is any other explanation possi-
Bile? In the vast multitude Of waybiIls
examined by the agents of the bureau of
eorporations in the offices of the railroads
false Billing or blind billing" was
found in regard to any oil shipments ex-
ccept IN connection with the scent rate
two othcr Illegal rates on oil made by this
same Chicago and Eastern Illinois rail-
road.
To Prevent knowledge.
Furthermors; The usual method of col
for oil shipped from Whiting to East St.
Louis, both over The Alton and the Chi
cago and Eastern Illinois. were made d-
rs,ctly through the general offices. This
also was, of course. to prevent any gen
eral knowledge of the rate.
Why were these unique and elaborate
measures of concealment taken if the
rates were lawful?
The grand jury, in the report above
follows:
The representatives of the Chicago and
Alton Railway company stated to the
grand jury that the case of the Standard
on company was the only one where the
tariff naming the rate collected had not
been regularly sent to the local freight
agent. and that so far as they knew. this
was the only case in which shipments had
been made at u rate less than that named
in the lawful tariff"
The officers of both these railroads adj
mitted that this 6-cent rate was secret.
one phrascd II as "semi-private."
An Exceptional Method.
The Standard has also made the ingenu-
Gus claim that it's carefully organized
freight-traffic department. certainly one
of the best in the country. supposed this
rate was legal, and that it had no knowl-
edge that the Alton kept the rate secret.
The Standard knew that the method OF
Alton and the Chicago and Eastern ILL.,
nois, was altogether exceptional: that it
was employed only in connection with this
East ST. Louis rate and with two other
similar rates over the Chicago and East
ern Illinois. On the very face of several
Of the semi-monthly bills rendered by the
Alton to the Standard at the illegal 6-cent
rate there appeared written evidence that
the oil was being waybilled at IS cents, so
that the Standard had notice thereby OF
the false billing" even If 1t had not been
perfectly cognizant of it otherwise. More
over. the only possible motive for that
secrecy which the railroads admit that
they maintained regarding his rate was
TO conceal II from competitors of the Stan
dard.. and 1t is inconceivable that the
Standard should not have known OF the
practices which Injured solely to it's ad-
vantage.
Bearing also ON such professed ie-
norance. a series of interesting memoran-
da were found by the agents Of the bu-
reau of corporations in the files of This