The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-04-30
Issues a Statement Explain
ing indictments Returned
by Grand Jury at Cleve-
land, Ohio.
A DISCRIMINATION
POSITIVELY DENIED
All Consumers, the Executive
Says, Were Treated with
Strict Impartiality by the
Companies.
palladium Specially

palladium Specially
ton of the grand jury indictments at
O., against Fourth Vice
President McCabe of the Pennsylvania
railroad company and Mr.. Hanna.
president of the Cleveland Dock COM
pany for an alleged rebate conspiracy,
President McCrea of the Pennsylvania
company this afternoon is
sued the following statement
In view of the recent Indictment
against the Pennsylvania company in
and of the apparent misun-
derstanding of the. public as to what
is really involved in the case, am led
to make this brief statement of fact:
The action of the grand jury. so far
as understand it is based on the fol-
lowing condition of affairs: During
the year. 1908 and q portion of the
year 1909, iron ore was landed from
the vessels at docks on Lake Erie
belonging to the Pennsylvania COM
pany, which docks, were being operat-
ed by NJ A. Hanna and company as
a dock company, with whom an agree
ment was entered into for hadling ore
from the vessels to the cars and docks
of the railroad company. The ves-
sells paid fixed price per ten for
unloading and the railroad company
a fixed price per ton for loading the
ore on the cars, the prices thus es-
tablished being the current prices at
practically all Of the docks of all rail-
roads at Lake Erie Ports.
Handling Cost Less.
Owing to the introduction of i'm.
proved handling machinery during
this period. the cost OF hadling the
ore was found to be less than the sum
of the payments made to the dock
companies by the vessels and the rail-
road companies. but the exact amount
of this possible saving could not be
determined until the close of the seas
on. IL was therefore provided in the
agreement that after deducting from
the gross receipts of the deck COM
pany, rental, cost of operation and
UldIuldluduCC anu plopCl IChuACA
ton for services rendered, that por-
tion of the saving per ton, published
in the tariffs Of the railroad company
filed with the interstate commerce
commission, was to be paid currently
by the dock company to the consum.
ers of ore, and any additional surplus
or saving that might possibly remain
at the close of the year should also
be apportioned among the consumers
of ore in the proportion that the ore
received by them over the Pennsyl-
vania's lines and connections bore to
the total ore tonnage forwarded from
the Pennsylvania company's docks.
This, of course absolutely insured uni
form rates to all consumers of ore for
warded from those docks. The tar
ifs duly published and filed with the
Interstate Commerce Commission
showed clearly the current payments
to be made by the dock company to all
these consumers of ore, but appear to
have been silent as to the final distri-
button to be made by the dock COM
pany of any possible additional saw
luS, CONSEQUENTLY, IL Tic COuipous . Ci
fort to carry out the exact spirit of the
law and insure impartial treatment to
its patrons the failure to note in the
published tariffs the provision for the
final distribution Of the possible addi.
tional saving-of which every con-
sumer had not only knowledge but no
tice-was not strictly in accordance
with the law, the violation was only
technical and wholly unintentional.
There can be no question of discrimi.
nation involved, as all consumers,
both large and small, were treated
with strict impartiality; there never
was nor could be any favoritism as
the rate to each one was exactly the
same The Indictment of Mr.. Hanna
president of the dock company. and OF
Mr. McCabe vice-presiJent of the rail.
road company, for alleged conspiracy
appears to be due solely to the fact
that it was they who executed on be
half OF their respective companies this
contract by which exact and absolute
equality of rates to all consumers OF
ore forwarded from Pennsylvania com
pany docks was guaranteed.
James McCrea,