The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1908-01-02

population Just outside Of Chicago. Its
only claim OF note Is tina II has been for
many years the point OF origin for this
me only motive for such a circuitous ar
rangement, Such a the obscure origin
ana character OF this "justifying'' rate.
Further c~onceaInsent.
Eurtnerrore. about four years later. In
railroad stiH further concealed the exist
ence or this already obscure BOLTON rate
~ issuing and filing the same conspicuous
tS = 1arin, already mention. to which
me Alton was also q party. This 18-cent
tar,n IVA the only oil rate on the Chicago
and eastern Illinois which could ever come
20 the notice OF the ordinary shipper. Thus
Tor the Standards claim that there was a
iesal 6M-cent rate over the Chicago and
Esster1 Illinois. lies In this inconspicuous
Mlmeograph sheet of 1898 which read from
bolton, which was concealed further by a
CONSPICUOUS lS-cenk rate, and which was
never distributed or made public. And, as
= matter OF fact no other shipper knew
knowledge would have been very import
ant In 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
ment WAS unfortunate enough 10 make the
claim that thousands OF tons OF freight
nave neen shipped from these points dur
ing the last nfteen years under the same
menta"
A Remarkable Admission.
Inc grand jury, on Instructions from
Moffett before Il. ana reportsa ~ nudge
Landis on October 4. In part, n fellows:
he ONT Moffett) was also unable to
give g the grand Jury Information as TO
except by the STANDARD Oh company from
tha points In question at a rate less than
the lawfully pablizhed and nled rate.
felt shows the general value of his de-
tense. He further admitted that his
statement" was largely prepared by his
attorney, Morttz Rosenthal.
These facts OF themselves refute COM
pleteiy the attempted justification OF the
Alton rate by means OF the Chicago and
Eastern Illinois &-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 6-cent rate
over both railroads. The Standard claims
that there was nothing secret about the
rate. But every waybill for oil shipped
over the Alton, underlthis rate was false
~ billed'-that is, the waybills showed on
their q q rate of Is cents, with the
freight charge In each case computed on
the wayblll at that rate, although the
actual freight charge collected from the
Standard was at the rate Of 6 cents. In
s sns oYsr me .n, shipments end S Of the
800 ~ AN
Illinois road every waybill for such ship
ments was disguised by another scheme,
to-wtt. by being blind billed"-that Is, no
rate at all was entered on the waybill
until the said waybill reached the general
offices OF the railroad. The first scheme
OF false billing required the falsifca-
The second scheme of blind billing en-
ttrely concealed the rate. Both schemes
had the intended result OF keeping the
local freight agent n others OUTSIDE the
pnnnrnl nffina In t0nnRn ~ rryha - fka
actual rate was, and thereby Jesse hing
the chance for outsiders to learn OF this
discrimination in favor of the Standard.
Such classifying and blind billing Is the
c~learest proof that there was something
illegal. Is any other explanation possi-
BILE? In the vast multitude Of waybills
examined by the agents of the bureau Of
centering at Chicago no such use OF
false billing. or ''blind billing was
found In regard to any oil shipments ex-
from Chicago TO East st. Louis and with
two other illegal rates on oil made by this
same Chicago and Eastern Illinois rail-
road.
To Prevent knowledge.
Furthermore, the usual method of COL
Letting freight charges Is through the
local freight agents. All the collections
for oil shipped from Whiting to East st.
Gag and Eastern Illinois, were made d.
rectiy 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 IL the
rates were lawful?
The grand jury, in the report above
mentioned, refer to this point also, as
follows:
The representatives of the Chicago and
Alton Railway company stated to the
grand jury that the case of the Standard
OIL company was the only n where the
tariff naming the rate collected had not
been regularly sent to the local freight
agent. and that 80 far as they knew, this
been made at a rate less than that named
in the lawful tariff"
The Officers OF both these railroads ad-
mitted that this 6-cent rate was secret.
One phrased 1t as 'semi-prtvate."
An Exceptional Method.
The Standard has also made the ingenu-
Gus claim that Its carefully organized
freight-traffic department, certainly one
OF the best In the country, supposed this
rate was legal, and that IL had no knowl-
edge that the Alton kept the rate secret.
The Standard knew hat the method Of
collecting the freight charges, both by the
nois, was altogether exceptional; that 1t
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 II II had not been
perfectly cognizant OF II otherwise. More
over, the only possible motive for that
secrecy which the railroads admit hat
THY maintained regarding this rate was
to conceal 1t from competitors OF the STAN
dard, and II is inconceivable that the
Standard should not have known of the
practices which Injured solely to its ad-
vantage. ... .-..
Bearing also on such professed ig-
norance, a series OF interesting memoran-
da were found by the agents OF the bu-
reau OF corporations in the files OF this
very Chicago and Eastern Illinois Rail-
road, which memoranda haVe been quoted
in full on pages 30 to N3 Of the report OF
the commissioner of corporations on the
transportation of petroleum, in May, 1906.
These prove that the Standard knew every
detail OF the ssuance of another contem-
poraneous illegal rate from Whiting via
Grand Junction over this road; that the
traffic manager of the Standard initiated
IL. dictated 1t to the railroads. and ar
ranged for It's secrecy by frequent con-
situations with the highest officers of the
road.
ImnossibIe to minute.