The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-04-02
THE NcCWiRY TisaNSPoMTA-
TEOS.

THE NcCw TRaNSPoMTA-
Extract, from the speech og sEom.
&. W. Willard
The transportation bill, which has passed
the House, enacts that all railroad lines
carrying freight between tie different
states, whether owned by one or by various
corporations, shall be regarded a employed
in commerce among the several states
fhcy are forbidden to charge more than a
fair and reasonable rate for the transpor-
tatlon OF freight or passengers such rate
10 be asceltaned and fixed by Il board of
nine railroad commissioners, to be appoint
ed by the president with the advice and
consent of the senate, and TO be residents
one in each OF the nine judicial districts of
the United States; they are to he disinter-
ested persons, and not to have any interest
N the stocks, bonds, or property of any
railroad, or any transportation company.
They are to inquire into the rates charged
for transporting freIghts aud passengers
over such lines of railroad, and as soon AS
practicable after such investigation prepare
for the operators of each of such lines
schedules of reasonable maximum rates of
charges; and they may from time to time,
as circumstances may require, change and
revise these schedules, by which the roads
are to be governed in their charges.
The railroads made no opposition to the
bill in the House, perhaps relying on its
unconstitutionality. The principal speech
against it in the House was by Mr.. Willard
Of Vermont.
Mr. wILLARD'S SPEECH
After promising that there were no party
questions involved in the discussion, Mr.
willard said that no one could contend
that any regulation of commerce was not
open to constitutional objection which is
not uniform in its operations and that il
il impossible to regulate this matter in any
way contemplated by the constitution
without establishing nearly as many differ
ent rates as there are different railroads. 1t
is quite impossible for congress to adopt
any rule that will apply to any two rail
roads alike. reasonable rate cannot he a
uniform rate, unless it is in the same rate
Tor equal distances, any more than reason
able price for commodity TO be sold in the
market would be uniform price when
different prices were fixed foi the same
commodity.
But, sir let Inc call attention to the other
provision of the constitution, that no regu-
laton OF commerce shall give any prefer
once to the ports of one state over those of
another. Now, | hold that it is utterly
impossible for nine men to attempt to reg
ulate freights, however honestly they may
set about the work, without preforring one
port of the United States to another
TO illustrate The city of Boston gets a
large amount of frcights from the west,
that come in part over the Grand Trunk
railway of Canada and oyer the Central
Vermont railway in Vermont, or by way of
Portland; and in summer partly by water
via Ogdcnsburg. | apprehcnd that if an
examination were made it would be found
that in fact the Erie railroad, the New
York Central, the Pennsylvania Central,
perhaps, and the Baltimore and Ohio
those roads which have the shortest lines,
taken altogether, from the vest to the sea-
board--iiX the rates for the long lines; and
that the long lines arc obliged to agree to
those rates, whatever they may be, because
otherwise they do not get the freight
Gentlemen living in New England cspec-
ally those who reside in the vicinity of
Boston, understand that the Vermont Cen
tral line, which carries much of this freight
through my state to Boston, has been the
line largely relied upon by Boston mer-
chants and shippers as their line of trans
portation to and from the west. They have
always felt strong interest in it, though
not, perhaps, so strong as their interest in
the Boston and Albany road What is the
consequence They have put their money
largely into that road and they have not
expected large, il any, dividends on their
money so invested and certainly have not
been disappointed in that respect. They
cared much more to get their freight from
The west to the sea-board chcaply, and from
The sea-boaid back to the west cheaply
than they did about getting dividends on
the $1,000, or $40, 900, or $40, 900 each that
they might have put into that corporation
The capital that they invested in 1t went
out Of sight within five years after the
building of the road, not by any dishonest
management of the road, hut because its
business would not support it.; because
these Boston merchants insisted-and they
insisted rightly. and the managers of the
road looked upon the matter much in the
same llght-that freight should be brought
over that line from the west to Boston as
cheaply as it could be brought to New
York by the Erie and New York Central
roads. That road has carried freight right
past my town from Chicago to Boston,
month after month, at twenty-five cents
per hundred pounds. the distance being
more than a thousand miles, while we
have been charged for the same classes of
freight from Montpelier, Vermont. to Bos-
ton, distance of two hundred miles, from
seyenty-fye cents to ninety cents per hun
bred pounds. Carrying through freight in
that way from the west to the sea-board,
that road has helped to build up Chicago
and other towns of Illinois, and of states
farther west. 1t has contributed vastly to
their development while we at home have
been charged upon our local freights as
much for our short distances as has been
charged to those who live a thousand miles
beyond us toward the Mississippi river for
the long distances which separate them
from the sea-board.
And yet this railroad in my State was
obliged to carry freight at that rate because
the New York Central and the New York
and Erie were carrying freight at that rate
to Boston and New York, and in order to
help Boston trade, and Boston merchants
who had put their money into that road,
they carried these freights for good deal