Show POOR KANSANS V RE SHUT OUT Story othe i 1 se s of Railway Rates Bates Bateson on the Independent Oil Producers 5 SOME SOE STRONG TESTIMONY J INQUIRY WAS ORDERED BY CON CONGRESS CONGRESS GRESS r 1 s pity pt March arch Acting up upon on r resolutions f by both houses 91 tIt th three thre members of the interstate e commerce commissIon be began began gan an Investigation today in the I made by Independent pro producers or of Kan Kana that the raIlroads of Kan discriminate In favor of the Standard on company in the matter of oil r rates tes outside that state The involved are the Santa Fe Fethe Fethe the Missouri Pacific the Missouri Kansa Texas the St Louis and San Fran ico co the Rock Island the the Kansas Kanses City South em rh and lId the Burlin Burlington ton The mern mem members bers ber of th the interstAte commerce corn com mission who bo will make the Investigation tion aNt 1 M Cockrell Judson C Clements and Charles A Prouty T Marsh who has been in the for the Dast two weeks making a preliminary of the producers charges Was present toy today as the attorney for the commit committee tee Frank S Monett f ormer attorney ney ef general or of Ohio and Clifford Thorne of ton Ta 10 were pres present present ent u counsel for the independent Th The In the state had representatives at the investigation tion and nd there Were several interest interested ed spectators Among the latter was r D of Cleveland 0 l of the National Petroleum atS comprising independent ers eras of Ohio and Pennsylvania He HeSI SI lie ho Us here hete to watch the pro proceeding In the interests of his asso elation Filed Charges With Garfield The tUon for the investigation began today wa started some time timea a vb when ft Clifford Thorne Thome acting up upon upon on of the OIl association flied filed wIth James R It Ro o fi ld commissioner eom of corpora it Washington a t in t t alleged discrimination tion Against the Independents h in the matter of rates were made This state nent said in pArt our petitioners firmly believe that no class of shippers In the United States today are more directly affected b interstate rates than tire the elf eit oU oil men by re reason son of the fact that their competition controls many great d st ms and owns ons lines form t a netWork over the American na natio tio rendering them practically lode Inde ent of the freight rates they es h for their rivals to pay By me of a remarkable of int ini freight rates th the Stand Standard Standard ard 1 is endeavoring to all competition fr KanSAs oil fields to of th the state of Kan Kansas s Tay you can ship the anie quantity of oil lot miles in K n sa for f r the same price that you can sh of tho e five miles nd to be over the state line While members of the producers a and will Ill be chief witnesses the Interstate commerce f has invited all parsOns firms e or Gr ha bar barlog log any interest In the proceedings to appe pear t t to produce and lid amine It is that the hearing will willIat through Wednesday The First Witness A Robertson of Cherryvale Kan Kanas was as a WitneSS examined Mr Rob RobertsOn ertsOn was a cot cor is 18 now a member of the KantI Kanea On Oil associatIon which kick makes tM the carges of Mr on te testimony ny brou brought ht out an story of the K Kan n oil held fleW Mr Robertson said that h hc was a member of the th Uncle Sam Samoil on oil company which Is affiliated mU ted with the as association He said that the Standard on Oil the Pr Prairie OH and Gas company and the Republic Ott on companies O were not of the Kansas on Producers a known as the at Mr Robertson said that oil Was diK red In I Kansas in paying quan lilies In 1803 The production then was OO barrels a day The Standard and its affiliated com companies the said Raid produce only 1090 1000 to 1500 barrels a day PracticallY aU all the oil oilIn In the field is is produced by t the e ind pendent nt companies The first pipe line was laid in Kansas In 1896 front from Thay Thayer er to In 1904 1901 a viDe pipe line Une was built from Neodesha to Caney near the Indian territory lines It Was as gradually extended down into Int dif different ferent points in Oklahoma The Stand Standard Standard ard hw has had a refinery at Neodesha I IKan Han Kan for tor ten rears ears and It has a pipe pipeline i line Une from N Neodesha e desha to sugar Creek Kansas City Rate Was Boosted I Five years ago Mr Robertson said I the rate on crude oU oil and refined oil from Cherryvale Kan to Kansas City i iwas was 10 cents per to Omaha the rate i iwas was 15 cents This rate was in effect until 1904 when It was changed to 17 cents to Kansas C ty and 22 cents to Omaha The weight of a gallon of oil was estimated by the r prior to 1904 at six and pounds In 1904 a change was made and the weight was estimated at seven and pounds for both cru crude e and d refined Kansas City Missouri and to all points in Missouri Nebraska Colorado and Oklahoma What was the rate from Cherryvale to Atchison and Leavenworth at the time It was 17 cents to Missouri points was asked of Mr Robertson It was 10 cents Other Commodities Not Raised When in 1904 the railroads raised the rate rute for transporting oil from Kansas points to points outsIde that state did they also raise the rate for transportation tion of other commodities such as coal wheat lumber and so on onNo uNo No sir The advance In rates ap applied applied plied only to oil Do you know of any commercIal reason why the rate on oil all should ad advance advance vance No sir I have never been able to discover any Did yu sell seU to the Standard company prior to the completion of their pipe line to Sugar Creek Yes sir Did you ou sell them afterwards No sir Why Kansas Field Boycotted The Standard on Oil company boycotted ted an all the Kansas field Feb 10 1905 and tore out all pipe line Une connections with Independent producers and Is Issued sued orders to purchase no oil from in independent independent dependent producers so we had no market Prior to the advance to 17 cents had you a market o outside the state for both crude and nd refined oil We Te had but since then we have had no market What bat is the present railroad rate on oIl from Chanute to Weber Ran RanTen Ten and cents That is a distance of miles Weber is near the Nebraska line Une It jg is seven seen miles from there to Superior Neb But the rate from to Superior Is 30 cents so that the difference of seven miles in distance makes a dIfference of cents in the rate From Chan te to Kiowa Ran Kan the distance is miles said Mr Robert Robertson son and the railroad rate on oil is 9 cents Airs Aha Okla OkIa is eighteen miles further but the rate from Chanute to Alva Is 35 i cents a difference of 6 cents From Chanute to Coolidge Ran Kan the distance is miles and the railroad rate on oil Is lb 15 cents Six miles further is the town of Holly Cole Colo The rate from Chanute to Holly is ie 50 cents a dIfference of 35 cents in inthe Inthe the rate for an added distance of sIx mules miles From Cherryvale to Galena Kari Knis is 66 miles and the railroad rate on oil is 6 cents SIx miles further is Top Jop un Mo 10 and the rate from Cherryvale to Joplin is Th If cents From Cherryvale Ran Kan to Springfield Mo the rate is Ii 1 n ts Shut Out Entirely Mr Robertson testified that the rail railroad road rate front from Cane Caney Kan to yule ville I T a 8 distance of sixt one miles mile prior to the building of the pipe the Standard Oil company Was 12 cents and it was Vas reduced to S 5 cents a pounds while the pipe line Une was con constructing constructing After ite ita the railroad rate was put up to 19 cents and It stands there today What effect did the rate have upon the Independent producer uIt It makes the rate from the well to the refinery 6 5 cents a barrel more than the top price paid for crude oIl In Ran Kan SlIM sas or the territory The top price paid for oil Is 2 cents a barrel while the I frel freight upOn a barrel would be 57 7 cents What effect did the Kansas rate law have upon the Independent refineries in Without that law it would be Impossible impossible sible for them to do business As a result ot of that law six Independent r fineries are in operation and three are buildIng There were only two in op operation before the rate went Into ef effect feet What Is the cost of crude oil through a pIpe line Two cents a hundred pounds for miles Ott on can be sent from Neodesha to the Standard on Oil refinery At Sugar cr erek k for 2 cents a hundred miles an any railroad rate in excess or Of that would would be pr to the Inde Independent independent pendent producer Could Not Compete With a rate of 57 cents from Neo Neodesha Neodesha desha to Ranas Kamas City can you compete with a pipe line Une that operates for 2 cents Certainly not oot Suppose the railroads had a rate of S i cents to Kansas City Mo could you compete with a pipe line Yes Yea sir because we handle our own product That effect did the passage of the Kansas rate law have Upon the con consumer sinner sumer In Kansas Before that law went into effect the price of refined kerosene was 13 cents a gallon When hen the law went Into effect the Standard Oil n company redu reduced ed the price to 9 cents u Mr Ir Robertson will you tell teU the commission how intimately kerosene and gasoline enters Into the life of the I I Kansan 1 I In many Parts of Kansas there Utere Is no other fuel Mr RObertson by W WH V VR R H Smith attorney for the Santa Fe railway r denied any knowledge of the government having issued a fraud or order order der against the Uncle Sam on Oil coin pany He admitted that charges had been preferred Against his company compan principally that it as over capitalized and that the assets were not sufficient Freight Agents Testimony W v A Leland assistant general freight agent of the Missouri Kansas Texas railway was the second wit witness ness flees caned called He told In reply to ques questions questions of a meeting at St Louis in June or of the traffic managers of the PacIfic the Santa Fe the Frisco Prisco and his road to consider rais raising lug ing the oil rate from Kansas He said that Mr Bogardus traffic manager of the Standard Oil com company any was pros preE ent but he did not recall that any of the independent oU oil refiners of Kansas had been asked to attend the meeting After the meeting he was Informed that the rate was to be changed from 10 cents to 17 cents from Kansas po to Kansas City Mo you know that the change was contemplated before that meet lug ins Mt Mr Leland was asked Yes we had it itI r I hold a letter sighed oy br you and to T 3 A Boland of Kansas City written May 28 S 1904 said Mr March and he showed it Mr Leland The letter Which Mr Leland admitted baring baving written advised Mr Boland that the rate upon crude on oil from southeastern Kansas to Kansas City Cit Leavenworth Atchison and St Sl would be raised to Ii 17 cents When n did the rate go IntO Int effect Aug 15 1 1904 1004 When the Rate Went Up lip About that tittle the St Sl nd rd Oil completed a pipe tine line front frunt Ui th oil field to Its It refinery at Sugar Cre Creek k in Missouri did It not Y 00 And coincident With that the rate I went up It had bad b been en agreed upon I IDid Did Mr Bogardus object ot to the the raise in rate I Yes s h hO severely objected to It He I wanted a lower rate The of the talc rate would be to guide oil Into Bogardus pipe line it itI ItI I dont thInk so 50 With a rat rate and a pump puma Un line rate Mlle dont you think the oil would aU all go by b th the pUm line Uno UnoN N Not t necessarily so 50 e the rate went ent into effect the of oU oil over the railroads has been Increased Mr Leland Lefand admitted that the Kansas rate law the rate for oil from Chanute Ken Kan to Kansas City Ran Kan was centS cenS inless Inies than carload lots But to Kansas City Mo It 31 i cents and the thc distance further Was only seven coven miles by his road which made mad a detour to get Into Kansas City Mo He said his road haUled a tank car mU muOn s tn in under the Kansas rate taw law for mid and for the same saine service ce In Missouri |