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The Hepburn Committee was created in 1879 by an act of the New York State Legislature.^[1]^[2] A. Barton Hepburn was directed by the State Legislature to investigate the railroads' practice of giving freight rate rebates (as much as 25%)^[3] 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'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, questioned representatives from the Erie Railroad and the New York Central Railroad 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, 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.^[4]

The committee found that stock watering was prevalent in the rail industry, as stock was frequently issued for speculative purposes.^[5]

References

^ "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)". Internet Archive. New York State Legislature. 1879. Retrieved 11 Feb 2022. Resolved, That a special Committee of five [afterwards increased to nine] persons be appointed, with power to send for persons and papers, and to employ a stenographer, whose duty it shall be to investigate the abuses alleged to exist in the management of the railroads chartered by this State, and to inquire into and report concerning their powers, contracts and obligations; said Committee to take testimony in the city of New York, and such other places as they may deem necessary, and to report to the Legislature, either at the present or the next session, by bill or otherwise, what, if any, legislation is necessary to protect and extend the commercial and industrial interests of the State. Composed of Messrs. HEPBURN, HUSTED, DUGUID, LOW, GRADY, NOYES, WADSWORTH, TERRY and BAKER, met at the Capitol in the City of Albany on Wednesday March 26th, 1879, at 3 o'clock P. M., and was called to order by the Chairman.
^ John T. Flynn (1933). "V - The Hepburn Investigation". God's Gold: The Story of Rockefeller and His Times. Ludwig von Mises Institute. p. 218. ISBN 978-1-61016-411-5. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
^ Josephson, Matthew (1934). The Robber Barons. Harcourt, Brace and Company. p. 265. ISBN 978-0156767903. At this very moment, Rockefeller was arranging anew the secret rebates with the leading railroads of the country, which had been so loudly decried in 1872. Upon the refined oil he shipped from Cleveland he received a rebate of 50 cents a barrel, giving him an advantage of 25% over his competitors.
^ Hawke, David Freeman (1980). John D. The Founding Father of the Rockefellers. Harper & Row. pp. 145-150. ISBN 978-0060118136.
^ Ripley, William Z. (1911). "Stock Watering". Political Science Quarterly. 26 (1): 98–121. doi:10.2307/2141396. ISSN 0032-3195.