JANUARY 31, 1907
THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
3
SENATE REFUSES
DECLINES TO ACCEPT POSTAGE
FROM STATE.
SIXTEEN BILLS ARE PASSED
ONE PREVENTS JUDGES FROM
SEEKING OTHER OFFICES.
NEW TERMINAL TAX MEASURE
CLARKE OF DOUGLAS REPLIES TO
RAILROAD LOBBYISTS.
Senate Rescind Resolution to Sue
the State Journal for Failure
to Deliver Printed Bitl
Within Three Day.
MONDAY
Both houses of the legislature con
vened yesterday afternoon after the
Sunday vacation. The senate went on
record against accepting postage from
the state and the members of that body
will pay the expense of mailing let
ters and bills to their friends through
out the state. The house had previously
fought out the question and had de
cided to accept postage. The senate
first struck out the item of postage in
the appropriation bill, thus making it
impossible for the house to draw
stamps. Later the senate relented and
reinstated the item in the appropria
tion bill.
Pwandall of Madison yesterday moved
that each senator be allowed twenty
cents in postage. He said he did this
partly on his own account, because he
believed it wrong for legislators to pay
postage on business that is really stato
business, and partly because he had
been requested to make the motion by
other members who were probably
afraid to break the ice. He called at
tention to the fact that the state furn
ishes postage to all of its employes ex
cept members of the legislature.
Gibson of Douglas said it probably
might be right for the state to pay
postage for members of the legislature,
but he did not consider it a question
of right. He opposed the motion.
King of Polk opposed paying and
specific amount as he believed some
might use the amount named and some
would not, and those who would not
could then take the balance home. He
suggested some plan whereby the state
would pay the actual amount of post
age used by members in .their official
business.
Randall said he would be willing to
accept iiny such an amendment, as
that was his idea of the proper way.
He believed the official letters might
be deposited with the secretary and
stamped by him from stamps bought
with funds appropriated by the legis
lature. Wilson of Pawnee opposed the mo
tion. He said it was a matter too small
to consider.
Byrnes of Platte agreed with the pre
ceding speaker that it was a matter
too small to consider, but he believed
a principle of right and wrong was in
volved. He said if it was wrong to ac
cept postage, it was wrong to accept
stain nery, ink and pencils from the
state.
Randall's motion was defeated by a
vote of 11 to 17, the vote being as fol
lows: Ayes: Ashton. Buck, Burns. Byrnes,
Epperson, llanna, McKesson, O'Con
nell, Randall, Thomas, Wiltse 11.
Nays: Aldrich, Clarke, Dodson. Gib
Luce, Patrick, Phillips, Root, Sauntlers,
Luce, Patrick Phillips, Root. Saunders,
Thomson, Thorne, Wllsey, Wilson 17.
Governor Meae.
Governor George L. Sheldon yester
day transmitted to the legislature a
special message In which ho said he
had received $790.37 from the general
govern im nt, being Nebraska's charge
of tin' Income from the forest reserves
within tin' past year ami asking that
bodv to illwpiM" of It In accordance
with the f.lral law which su li
hhdll ! expended fur the benefit of
the public m-Iii and the public roadr
of tin- counties in which the forest re
servation l,s situated. The in !x.ik
van nei 'I veil and placed on fib'. It I.)
HM f"lliVS:
"You are doubtles aware that with
in neitit ars tin' rele nil k''v m
ttwnt has given much attention to the
conservation of natural forests and ul-
o Ian ouuhl to ftlmuUte tree growth
In prairie regions bv the establishment
of foteil l r . Three of these re
MTVt b.ive In en l ati d In N-brtki
and are Known u the IMsmil Itlvi-r,
the Ni d-i r i and the North Platte re
serve. t.-i lv Iv. Mv lnforni.it l.-n I
thsl thv are utttt.itnl In th counties
of Blaine, Grant, Cherry, Thomas and
McPherson.
"The act making appropriations for
the national department of agricul
ture, approved June 30, 190G, (34 U. S.
statutes, 648) contains the following:
" 'That ten per centum of all money
received from each forest reserve
within any fiscal year, Including the
year ending June thirtieth, nineteen
hundred and six, shall be paid at the
end thereof by the secretary of the
treasury to the state or territory in
which said reserve is situated, to be
Expended as the state or territorial
legislature may prescribe for benefit
of the public schools and public roads
of the county or counties in which the
forest reserve is situated; Provided,
That when any forest reserve is in
more than one state or territory or
county the distributive share to each
from the proceeds of said reserve shall
be proportional to its area therein;
And provided further, That there shall
not be paid to any state or territory
for any county an amount equal to
more than forty per centum of the
total Income of such county from all
other sources.'
"In harmony with the provisions
quoted I have received from the audi
tor of the treasury department a war
rant for $790.37, being Nebraska's pro
portionate share of tho income from
the forest reserve within the state for
the fiscal year 1906, which sum I have
paid into the State treasury to the
credit of the forest reserve fund. The
federal statute referred to makes it
plain that this money is to be ex
pended for the 'benefit of the public
schools and public roads of the county
or counties in which the forest reserve
is situated,' to be disbursed as the leg
islature may prescribe. Before these
funds can be available for the several
counties participating it will be nec
essary for your honorable body to pre
scribe the details of expenditure and
it is for that purpose that I call your
attention to the matter. I understand
that the state's revenue from the
forest reserve is continuous and will
increase with each year."
Railroad Rill Ready.
The sub-committee, which Is formu
lating a bill defining the duties and
powers of the railway commission, has
practically agreed on the form of the
proposed bill and will be ready to re
port to the joint committee today or
tomorrow.
Senators Epperson of Clay, Aldrich
of Butler and Representatives Harri
son of Otoe and Walsh of Douglas,
comprising the sub-committee, have
worked rapidly and harmoniously to
formulate a bill. Only one or two dis
puted points caused delay and these
were settled last night at a meeting
at the Lindell hotel. The manner of
procedure as defined in the bill was
one of the most important points in
dispute. The sub-committee at one of
its first meetings agreed that a rate
ordered enforced by the commission
should remain in force and not be su
perseded except by order of a court
of competent jurisdiction.
As to the details of the bill the sub
committee will say little until its re
port is placed before the joint com
mittee. It is understood that many of the
features of the bill introduced by Aid
rich of Butler have been adopted.
Some changes in the two proposed
plans of procedure are said to have
been agreed upon. Senator Epperson,
who had ideas on this point, settled
their differences last night. One of
the proposed plans was for the com
mission to hold a formal hearing be
fore changing any rate complained of.
The other was to have the board get
information and announce a rate and
then give the railroad a reasonable
time to show cause why the proposed
rate should not be enforced.
To prevent the railroads from set
ting aside rates by Injunction suits
is one of the objects of the men who
are drafting the bill. It is understood
that the bill will provide that an ap
peal or application to a court by a
railroad company shall bo accompa
nied by tho testimony taken before
the board, so that the court can act
intelligently and not grant an Injunc
tion unless the evidence shows tne
proposed rate to be unreasonable.
The pub-committee has agreed on a
section that will give the commission
power to punish any peron who may
have been called as witnesses to bring
paper or record and who fall to obey
the order of the board.
The Hiib-eonunltt to draft a hill on
free transportation not at tho Lindell
hotil last night and dhouwd th
measure, but arrived at no conclusion
with rex pec t to the provision t.j be
Included In It,
The house committee on public
land. and building, with Architect
George HrrllliKh'un. Inspected the east
wing 'f the capltol yetiterday to ee
for themselvrst the extent of the net
tling which the urchlteet reported wa,s
i kol angering the building They vUlted
J,i haeini-nt and carefully Inspected
! the prtrnl i They nk- I .and Com-mh-toiii
r Kiton to secure figure
I from an Omaha architect as to the
i r.i't of repair n .uy to make the
tutiuttwie nafe. The ttiitount 'f Mr
Burlinghofs estimate is $20,000. The
committee was made aware of the
plans for the erection of an addition
to house the state library while the
work is being done. No definite recog
nition of this matter has been taken,
however.
WANT SLICE OF THE PORK
Illinois Ha Grievance Ajsalnat Con
creaanian Durton.
SPRINGFIELD, 111., Jan. 28. Judge
LIndley will tomorrow present In the
house a joint resolution severely criti
cising Congressman Burton of Ohio for
his action in recommending no appro
priation for beginning the work of a
deep waterway between the lake and
the gulf in the rivers and harbors bill
and stating that the distribution of
money in the bill is "unfair to the peo
ple of the Mississippi valley." The reso
lutions also ask congress to increase
the appropriation for the Missouri and
Mississippi rivers and also appropriate
for beginning the work on the deep
waterways.
The resolutions, which are similar to
those presented before the Missouri
legislature demands that the Illinois
congressman introduce, work and vote
for the following:
An amendment to the rivers and har
bors bill increasing the appropriation
for the Missouri river from $300,000 to
$1,000,000 a year, so than permanent
bank protection plans, as well as snag
ging operations may be carried on, and
the Missouri river may be effectually
put back on the map.
An amendment Increasing the appro
priation for the Mississippi river be
tween St. Louis and Cairo to $1,000,000
a year.
DOESN'T LOOK FOR TROUBLE
One NehroMka Sheriff Way In Irri
tating to Prisoners.
Nebraska has one sheriff who gos
after a prisoner and brings him home,
wherever he finds him, regardless of
state lines and extradition laws. That
officer is Sheriff Sammons of Buf
falo county, a young fellow, ambitious,
eager to make a record as an officer,
who does things. In two recent in
stances he has forgotten where state
lines were located long enough to
bring prisoners Into Nebraska with
out the formality usually attendant in
such cases.
Not long ago a prisoner escaped
from his jail. lie traced him to Oma
ha and there lost the trail. That's an
easy thing to do in . Omaha, officers
say, but the search was not aban
doned because the trail was lost. A
reward was posted with the police of
that city for the capture of the es
caped prisoner and Sammons contin
ued the search. He found his man In
Council Bluffs, and there was little
formality about what followed. The
fellow was placed under arrest, hur
ried onto an Omaha car and taken
across the river before the great state
of Iowa found out that-it had been In
vaded, and one of Its temporary in
habitants spirited away. Once on the
Nebraska idj w.th a prisoner es
caped from his own JiP Sheriff Sam
mons did net worry about Iowa law-yen--
and the prisoners' r'staneo.
A few days later he repeated this
performance, hurrying a prisoner
across tho Nebraska line from Jules
burg, Col., where he had gone to get
him. This man was not an escaped
prisoner, but Sammons wanted him on
a serious charge, and he feared the de
lays and troubles that extradition
formalities might bring upon him. It
was two short miles across the coun
try to the Nebraska line, so he took
his man by force across the border
and brought him home. These may not
be just what an officer of the law
should d but Snmmons believes in
saving trouble by avoiding It.
In the arrest In Council Bluffs it is
claimed he earned the ill will of some
Omaha policemen, who had hoped to
earn the reward, but Sammons beat
them to his man and had him well on
the way to Kearney before many
of them knew the fellow had been cap
tured. Sammons I a Buffalo county pro
duct, having grown to manhood In
that county, and being the, second of a
family of brothers to fill the office of
uherlff. He saw service during the
Spanish-American war. and Is a young
tr.an. not far from thirty years of age.
THINKS AN APOLOGY IS DUE
Judge Ureett Would Welenme One
From Speaker Ctnnnn.
COUNCIL ltLUKPH. la. Jan : -Ju!fT
W. It. Green of th district twiieh,
who Is .ill to h iv twn recently referred
to by Kp.kr Cannon a a '-rowdy" and
j ro If r." !-iu. , of utatrrtieril at
tributed to hlm'i. a lecture In Sidney,
la., dented today that h made th
nUtementii reiMrdlng Cannon hlrh Wfrs
attrtbuie.l to him. lit rhamctcrlxet th
ii(iwltlf aeeount a a "yarn" and
; i that In I'litloe t' hb".'!f and Hi" k.
1 r Cani 'O) a nhouM be corrected.
J l'ii imi i!i th.t an p 'logy U coming from
Curator,
DOES NOT SPARE IT
STANDARD OIL COMPANY PICT
URED IN DARK COI-O- 1
RULE OR RUIN ITS POLICY
COMMERCE COMMISSION SENDS A
REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Explain Method by Which the
Trnt IThn Dalit Up and Perpetu
nted Its Monopoly Killed
Off Competitor.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31. The Inter
state commerce commission sent to
congress a report of the Investigations
made by it under the Tlllman-Gllles-ple
resolution concerning the relations
of common carriers by rail to the pro
duction and distribution of oil. The
report covers the distribution of petro
leum and Its products east of the Mis
sissippi river, and, Incidentally, the
Kansas and Texas fields. The report
points out generally the methods by
which the Standard Oil company "has
built up and perpetuatel its monopoly."
It is asserted that "the ruin of its
competitors has been a distinct part of
the policy of the Standard Oil company
in the past, systematically and per
sistently pursued."
"No instance," the report says. "Is
found where any railway company has
been Interested in oil lands or In petro
leum production, and only one Instance '
! Is shown where officials of a railway
company were Interested in the pro
duction and sale of oil. This relates
to certain officials of the Baltimore &
Ohio Southwestern railroad having
owned stock of the Argand Ue fining
company, which was, on their recom
mendation, afterwards sold to the
Standard. Oil company, and tho lubrl
eating contract, which 'the road trans
ferred to the Galena Oil company, a
Standard company.
Margin of Proflt I,nrge.
"The Standard Oil company largely
morpollzes th handling of petroleum
from the mouth of the well until it Is
sold to the retailer, and sometimes to
the consumer, and under ordinary cir
cumstances its margin of proflt Is very
large. Estimates made in the report
show a profit on refined oil from the
Sugar Creek refinery at Kansas City
of from 5 to 8 cents per gallon. A
much higher profit Is indicated for gas
oline. The sale of refined oil from the
large Standard refinery at Whiting,
Is correspondingly profitable.
"The evidence shows Utile basis for
the contention that the enormous divi
dends of the Standard Oil company are
the legjtlmate result of its economies.
Except' for It pipe lines, the Standard
has but little, legitimate advantage over
the independent refiner.
"The Standard buys advertising
space In many , newspapers which It
fills, not with advertisements, but with
reading matter prepared by agents kept
for that purpose and paid for at ad
vertising rates, as ordinary news. The.
assumption Is that this literature fur
nishes many of the ideas touching the
great benefits conferred upon the pub
lic by the Standard Oil company.
"Posesslon of the pipe lines enables
th Standard absolutely to control the
price of crude petroleum and the price
which Its competitors in a given lo
cality shall pay. It can raise the price
in one locality and obtain Its oil from
another and reserve the process when
it dfslres to do so. Whoever controls
the avenues of transportation of the
raw material or of the refined product
can speedily drive his competitors out
of existence, and the production and
distribution of petroleum is no excep
tion to the rule."
An Artificial Atlrnntaire.
The pipe line system of the Stand
aril, the report contends. Is not a nat
ural, but rather an artificial advan
tage. It Is argued that the reason why
long pipe Unta competing with tho-e
of the Standard have not been provid
ed. Is found In obstacles In the way of
Kuch undertakings, having been op.
posed by the railroads, whose right-of-way
has generally stood as a Chl
nr wall against all attempts to cx
lend pipe lines. Ordinarily. It Is said,
the Standard has not received rebate
In recent yearn, bo far an ha been dls.
covered, but It his nevertheless enjoyed
secret rates possessing all of the ele
rnents of Illegal rates, and the advan
tage no obtained over Ind. pendent
shippers have been of very great vnluo
t that company, Numerous Instances
of discrimination In favor of th Stand
ard resulting from the published nil
w sy ratjt were found, says tho report.
In this connection the following Is an
Instnnee trlven:
"A low rate ef 10 cents per 100
pounds upon petroleum and Its prnl
net txNted for many years from Neo
dosha, Kan., where the Standard p
rr ited a refinery, to K hums City. This
was for tho Interval of the Standard;