Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-10-09
CHEAP TRANSPORTATION.


special issue raised by them:
Having changed its name sewers
times, the last one chosen by the oppc
sltion is the Anti-Monopoly part,
The moribuud organization now hope
ior success, but no one is likely to b
hoodwinked by the plea that it is tn
honest mans party" The Anti-Mo
nopoly party has raised the cry o
cheap transportation and claims tina
this can only be secured through tina
organization; but the Republican par
ty has given as cheering assurances q
the other for success in this direction
The people of the whole country hav,
been heavily taxed to construct the irol
arteries of transportation, hoping tha
when completed their products conlG
be shipped cheaply as well as rapidly
Instead of this, however, combination!
among the Eastern roads have forced
up the prices of freights to q poin
where it takes the price of three bush
els of corn to get the fourth bushel to
the Atlantic seaboard. The people
are oppressed by the exactions Of tht
grinding monopoly, and ask that the
prices OF freight by regulated by law. SO
| that not only will the carrying trade
be profitable, but that Western pro.
ducers will be enabled to realize such
prices for their products as will enable
them TO dispense with burning corn
for fuel. 1t will be found on investi
cation that the record Of the Republi.
can party is even better ON this ques.
tioD than that of the Anti Monopolists
| and that while the latter have been of.
fering empty words TO the producer
the former has been at work. The
question is new one. In his annual
address last December, President
Grant said that the question of secur-
ing cheap and reliable transportation
to the sea-board would force itself up
on the attention of Congress, and
recommended that body to appoint a
special committee to collect facts and
statistics bearing on the subject OF
transportation, and investigate and re-
port upon such legislative action as
would be necessary to make the cost
of carrying freights equitable and fair.
Thus the President did this duty
promptly at the first opportunity pre-.
sented to him. During the session,
Gen. Hawley, OF Illinois, introduced a
bill designed to carry out the spirit of
the Presidents recommendation,
which was defeated. The vote for the
bill was 76 Republicans and Demo-
Gratis; against it, Democrats II, Re.
publicans 90. 1t was understood hv
myself and other friends of the meas
ure that the Democratic vote was cast
against it on constitutional grounds,
they claiming that Congress has no
power in the premises. In the Senate
substantially the bill was passed, but
the Democratic Senators, notably
Messrs. Stevenson, Casscrly and Thur
man, took care to place themselves on
record as believing that Congress has
no power in the premises. In the
House, the Democrats, almost to a
man, voted against the bill, and in the
Senate those who did vote in favor of
it took care to qualify their votes with
the statement that while they voted to
secure the statistics called for in the
bill, it would depend on their own
judgment what course they would
pursue when the subject should come
up for other legislative action. In
other words, they do not intend to
tbandon the old doctrine of State
Rights. The Anti Monopoly Conven-
ton of Iowa planted itself practically
ON this doctrine when it declared that
all corporations are subject to legisla-
tive control All the great lines that
carry our produce from the Mississip-
pi to the Atlantic are chartered by
various State Legislatures, and the
Democrats in Congress who are the
Anti-Manopolists, now say that Con.
gress has no power to control them.
The Republican party claims that it
has. Here is line passing through
your town that crosses Iowa,
Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
New York, Connecticut and Massa-
chusetts. Which legislature shall con-
troll it? Here is vital issue, on
which the two parties have taken is-
sue. The Republicans say that this
control must be by Congress.
1t was early forseen by the officers
of the National Government that the
navigation of our long and wide riv-
ers, many of which bound or traverse
several States. must be controlled by
Congress, for the reason that conflicts
might arise from the clashing claims
and authority of State laws, and the
power of Congress ito control and reg
ulate commerce between the States"
embodied into the Constitution. So
when steam was applied to naviga-
tion. stringent laws were enacted reg
ulating the building, equipping, navi-
eating and management of steamboats,
on our interior waters. 1t would ac-
tually seem that when the railroad sys-
tenn became OF national Importance
it being possible to ship barrel of
flour across dozen States in the same
car, the same or similar powers to
those exercised by Congress over COM
merce on water would apply to COM
merce on land. But the Anti Monop-
olists ask the people to abandon all
hope of relief from Congress-, and de-
pend on the State Legislatures for pro-
lection. 1t is certainly time to take in
hand this new adjunct of civilization,
which already divides with water
transportation the monopoly of the
carrying trade. Shall we look for pro-
lection from the strong hand Of the
Federal Government, or trust the fee
bier power of State Legislatures
That this is a sound and tenable po-
sition, am the more convinced from
the position taken by that eminent ju-
rist, whose superior does not live in
America, Mr.. Justice Miller, In the
Clinton Bridge case, which was before
his court in 1867. Judge Miller de-
clares that the power to regulate inter-
State commerce is vested exclusively
in Congress, the power Of State Legis-
latures being limited by territorial
lines. Can there be any question that
the Republican party, in maintaining
the doctrine that Congress has this
power is, after all, the best Anti Mo-
nopoly party?
Justice Miller's opinion ia backed
up by Justice Story, who in his com.
mentaries, takes precisely the same
ground in treating this clause of the
Constitution.
The Republican party has never yet
broken o promise that 1t has made
Can you not trust its promise also on
the transportation question, due re.
gard being had to the rights Of the cor.
poratorsr