The Hepburn Committee was created in 1879 by an act of the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

A. Barton Hepburn Alonzo Barton Hepburn (July 24, 1846 – January 25, 1922) was an American politician from New York (state), New York, famed for being the Chairman of the New York State Legislature's eponymous The Hepburn Committee, Hepburn Committee of 1879 th ...

was directed by the State Legislature to investigate the railroads' practice of giving freight rate rebates (as much as 25%) to certain of their largest corporate clients, creating what were in effect much higher freight rates for smaller companies and an unfair advantage for some of the largest corporations in the nation - like

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

's Standard Oil Company. Merchants without ties to the oil industry had pressed for the hearings. Prior to the committee's investigation, few knew of the size of Standard Oil's control and influence on seemingly unaffiliated oil refineries and pipelines - Hawke (1980) cites that only a dozen or so within Standard Oil knew the extent of company operations. The committee counsel,

Simon Sterne Simon Sterne (born June 23 1839, Philadelphia – died September 22 1901, New York City) was an American lawyer and economist. Biography He studied at the University of Heidelberg, and then graduated from the law department of the University of ...

, questioned representatives from the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake Erie ...

and the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

and discovered that at least half of their long-haul traffic granted rebates, and that much of this traffic came from Standard Oil. The committee then shifted focus to Standard Oil's operations.

John Dustin Archbold John Dustin Archbold (July 26, 1848 – December 6, 1916) was an American businessman and one of the United States' earliest oil refiners. His small oil company was bought out by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. Archbold rose rapidl ...

, as president of Acme Oil Company, denied that Acme was associated with Standard Oil. He then admitted to being a director of Standard Oil. The committee's final report scolded the railroads for their rebate policies and cited Standard Oil as an example. This scolding was largely moot to Standard Oil's interests since long-distance oil pipelines were now their preferred method of transportation.

References

External links

Proceedings of the Special Committee on Railroads, Appointed under a resolution of the Assembly to investigate alleged abuses in the Management of Railroads chartered by the State of New York (Vol. I, 1879)
{{Portal, New York (state), Politics, Law Hepburn Committee Hepburn Committee Hepburn Committee Hepburn Committee Hepburn Committee Hepburn Committee

See also

References

External links