The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1908-01-21

ritory 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 Mofett 10 furnish
evidence OF their wrong doing may be inter
preted as demand for an elaboration of the
obvious; but the fact that a rate-book contain
ing these freight rates for other shippers was
offered in evidence during the 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 lie had referred
them to various official Investigations by the
Interstate Commerce Commission and other de-
part,nents of the Government.
We come back, therefore to the conclusion of
the whole matter. which is that the Standard
OH Company of Indiana was fined an amount
equal to seven or eight times the value OF its
entire property. because IFS traffic department
did not verify the statement of the Alton rate
clerk, that the sS-cent con,nsSsiity rate on oil
had been properly hted WITH the J1terstatei Cem
merce' Commission. There is no cvS1dehce, and
none was introduced at the trial, that any ship
per OF oil from Chicago territory had been inter
fered with by the eighteen-ccnt rate nor that
the failure of the Alton to file rs six-cert rate
had resulted IN any, discri:ninaiiof, against any
independent shipper-we must take this on the
VOID of the Commissioner OF Corporations and
of Judge Lands Neither is it denied even by
Mr.. Smith that the "fndependrnt" shipper 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 TO ship from Whit
ing via Dolton over tire lines Of the Chicago and
Eastern Illinois to East ST Louis In short,
President Mofetts.dcfcnee is ssiH good. and we
predict viii be so declared By the higher court.
The Standard Oil Company has been charged
with all manner of crimes ard misdemeanors.
Beginning with the famous Rice of Marietta.
passing down to that apostle Of popular liberties,
Henry Demarest Lloyd, with his Wealth Against
the Commonwealth. descending by easy stages to
Miss Tarbeifs offensive personalities we finally
reach the neither depths of unfair and baseiess
Misrepresentation III the report of the Commits
soner 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 corporation is at last dragged
to the bar of justice to answer for It's misdo-
ipgs. The whole strength of the Government is
directed against it, and at last, we are told the
Standard OH Company is to pay the penalty of.
its crimes, and it is finally convicted of having
failed to verify the Statcp,cn4a of rate clerk
and is forthwith fined a Prodigious sum- meas
ured by the car. Under the old criminal law.
the theft of property worth more tran shilling
was punishable by death Under the interpreta-
ton of the Interstate Commerce law by Tbco-
dore Roosevelt and Judge Ksnesaw Lands, a
technical error of traffic official is made the
excuse for the confscation of vast amount of
property.