Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1908-01-30

ritory had been guilty. Considering the fact
that these shippers included the packers and ele-
vator men of Chicago the action of the grand
jury in calling upon President Moffett to fur
nlsh evidence of their wrong doing may be in
terpreted as demand for an elaboration of the
obvious; but the fact that rate-book contain
ing these freight rates for other sh .ppers was
offered in evidence during the trial and ruled
out by Judge Lands, was kept out OF sight.
President Mofett would not, of course, accept
the invitation of the grand jury although he
might have been pardoned if he had referred
them to varions official Investigations by the
Interstate Commerce Commission and other de-
partnents of the Government.
We come back, therefore. to the conclusion of
the whole matter, which is that the Standard
Oil Company of Indiana was fined an amount
equal to seven or eight times the value of its
entire property because its traffic department.
did not verify the statement of the Alton rate
clerk that the six-cent commodity rate on oil
had been properly filed with the Interstate Com
merce Commission. There is no evidence, and
none was introduced at the trial, that any ship
ment of oil from Chicago territory had been in
terfered with by the eghteen-cent rate nor that
the failure of the Alton to file its sx-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 it denied even by
Mr. Smith that the independent" 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 Doton over the lines of the Chicago and
Eastern Illinois to East ST Louis In short,
President Moffetts defence is still good, and we
predict will 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 10 that apostle Of popular liber-
ties Henry Demarest Lloyd with his Wealth
Against the Commonwealth, descending by easy
stages to Miss Tarbe1rs offensive personalities,
we finally reach the neither depths of unfair and
baseless Misrepresentation in the report Of the
Commissioner of Corporations. The Standard
has been charged with every form of CONNER
cial piracy and with most of the crimes on the
corporation calendar After long years Of siren
uous attack under the leadership of the Presi-
dent of the United States the corporation is at
last dragged to the bar of justice to answer for
its misdoings. The whole strength of the Gov
eminent is directed against it, and at last, we
are told, the Standard Oil Company is to pay
the penalty of its crimes, and it is finally con-
victed of having failed to verify the statement
Of rate clerk and is forthwith fined prodig-
ious sum, measured by the car Under the old
criminal law, the theft of property worth more
than shilling was punishable by death. Under
the Interpretation of the Interstate Commerce
law by Theodore Roosevelt and Judge Kenesaw
Lands, technical error of a traffic official is
made the excuse for the coniscation of vast
amount of property.