RAILWAY REBATES IN AMERICA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13370, 27 December 1906, Page 5

RAILWAY REBATES IN AMERICA.

THE RECENT PROSECUTIONS.

OIL TRUST'S ESCAPE ON A

LEGAL POINT.

By Telegraph.—Press Association. -Copyright.

New York, December 25. Judge Duncan, in the Court of Common Pleas, at Findlay, yesterday, decided that the Probate Court had no jurisdiction in the recent suit against the Standard Oil Trust. This annuls the verdict given in the case, but docs not affect the indictments filed at St. Louis against Rockefeller and other officials of the trust personally.

The Standard Oil Trust- was indicted.at Findlay, Ohio, in August, on a large number of charges relating to railway rebate*. The allegation in that ease was* based im tank car shipments of petroleum product:'/ from the refineries at Whiting, Indiana. According to a statement issued from the office of the United States District Attorney, after the indictments had been returned, the names of the offending railway companies were given, and it was declared that Burlington and Alton Road« had published ■ lawful rates of 18 cents pel 1001b to East St. Louis from Whiting, and 19J cents to St. Louis, but carried oil for the Standard Oil Company on a secret unpublished rate at six and 7£ cents to those points respectively. The statement then "continues:~"On shipments to points in the South, be-; yond Grand Junction, the Standard Oil Company should have paid different lawful rates for the different points of destination, but was given concessions which n.veraged about 27£ per cent, of the published rate. The same is true of shipments handled; by; the Chicago and Eastern Illinois, and Evansville and Ten* Haute to Evansville, Ind., and points beyond. The concessions given, td the Standard Oil Company by the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Road were in the shape of cancellations of storage charges at Chicago of five cents per ton per day on all oil delayed in delivery. Other oil shippers were compelled to" pay the storage charges/' The penalty for each offence is a fine of not less than £200, and not more than £4000.