The news-democrat. (Providence, R.I.) 1906-1909, 1908-01-17
Commissioner Smith VS.. The Standard Oil Co.
rnoM THE RAILWAY WORLD. January 8. 100


do not run into Chicago. They terminate
at Dolton, from which point entrance is
made over the Belt Line. Whiting,
where the oil freight originates, is not
on the lines Of the Chicago and Eastern
Illinois which receives its Whiting
freight from the Belt Line at Dolton.
The former practice, now discontinued,
in filing tariffs was to make them read
from point on the line of the filing road,
and it was also general to state on the
same sheet, that the tariff would apply to
other points, e. e., Whiting. The
Chicago and Eastern Illinois followed
this practice in filing its rate from Dol
ton, and making note on the sheet that
it applied to Whiting. This was in 1906
when this method of filing tariffs was in
common use.
Now let us see in what way the intend
ing shipper of oil could be misled and de-
ceived by the fact that the Chicago and
Eastern illinois had not filed a rate read
ing from Whiting Commissioner Smith
contends that "concealment is the only
motive for such a circuitious arrange
ment," i. e., that this method of filing the
rate was intended to mislead intending
competitors of the Standard Oil Com
pany. Suppose such prospective oil
rehner had applied to the Interstate Com
merce Commission for the rate from
Chicago to East St. Louis over the
Chicago and Eastern Illinois, he would
have been informed that the only rate
filed with the commission by this COM
pany was 6H cents from Dolton, and he
would have been further informed, if
indeed he did not know this already, that
this rate applied throughout Chicago
territory. So that whether he wished TO
locate his plant at Whiting, or anywhere
else about Chicago, under an arrange
, ment of long standing, and which applies
to all the industrial towns in the neigh
borhood of Chicago, he could have his
freight delivered over the Belt line to the
Chicago and Eastern Illinois at Dolton
and transported to East st. Louis at
rate Of 6I cents. Where then is the con-
cealment which the Commissioner OF
Corporations makes SO much of? Any
rate-from Dolton on the Eastern Illinois
or Chappell on the Alton, or Harvey on
the Illinois Central, or Blue Island on the
Rock Island, applies throughout Chi
cago territory to shipments from Whit
ing, as TO shipments from any other point
in the district. So far from the Eastern
Illinois filing its rate from Dolton in
order to deceive the shipper, it is the
Commissioner of Corporations who
either betrays his gross ignorance of
transportation customs i'll Chicago ter
ritory or relics on the public ignorance
of these customs to deceive the pub
lie too apt to accept nquestioningly
public too apt to accept unquestioningly
every statement made by Government
official as necessarily true, although, as
in the present instance, careful examin-
alton shows these statements to be false.
The final point made by President Moi
fett, that other commodities of charac-
ter similar to oil were carried at much
lower rates than IS cents, the Commits
sioner of Corporations discusses only
with the remark that "the reasonable
ness of this rate is not in question. The
question is whether this rate constituted
a discrimination as against other shippers
of oil,' and he also makes much of the
failure of President Moffett to produce
before the grand jury evidence of the
alleged illegal acts of which the Standard