The New York herald., 1879-12-03
THE RAILROAD INVESTIGATION.

THE RAILROAD INVESTIGATION.
NIB. sTERNE BEGINS SUMMING UP IN BEHALF
REVIEW OF THE EVIDENCE.
The Assembly Committee appointed to investigate
the management Of railroads in this State resumed
its sessions yesterday morning in the Chamber Of
Commerce building. corner Of Cedar and William
streets After the witness (wclch) had been dis
posed Of Mr.. Sterne began tho summing up in behalf
of the Chamber Of Commerce. which lasted all day.
and will probably occupy the whole Of to-days ses-
sion.
Mr.. John g. Welch the oil statistcian. again took
tho stand when the committee convened. and testi-
fed that the United Pipe Line had absorbed all the
other pipe lines and that this absorption gave the
Standard Oil Company control Of the crude petro-
leum business; the president of the United Pipe
Line director of the Standard Oil Company
the interests Of the two corporations almost
identical; the Standard Company adopted policy
of squeezing out and buying up other refneries.
and thus securing monopoly. Since 1867. he said.
it had gained control of about seventyfve reaneries
from ninety to ninety-Aveper cent of the entire
number in the country After . lengthy cross
examination by Mr.. Blanchard and Mr. Scudder the
witness excused.
Then Mr.. Simon Sterne began summing up on be-
half Of the Chamber Of Commerce and Board OF
Trade and Transportation II have been called" he
said. "by my friend Mr. Depew. in several parts Of
his address, Don Quixote Perhaps I am But
there is this dierence-instead of Don Quixote fight
ing the windmills the windmls have for three days
been fighting Don Quixote. Laughter). Mr. De-
pew's speech might just well have been made
immediately upon the opening proceedings as at the
close. SO far as It related to the evidence or was
based upon 1t. Mr.. Depew has seen fit to combat
the position that the railways proper subjects Of
State legislation. But the Supreme Court of the
United States has decided that whenever private
citizen places his money into business affected
with public interest that business becomes in
stantly subject public control. AS the charge
that ommunist,c spirit had taken possession Of
the Chamber in insisting that tho railways Of the
State of New York shall do justice to the city.
need but read some OF the names appended to the
CALL
SOURCE OF THE coMMUNIsrIc SPIRIT.
eff the people were not compelled to pass vice
sconced in comfort ana in luxury beyond the power
Of the law to reach there would be great deal Less
of the communistic spirit than exists now / must
mention names in this connection. 1t seems to me
II we have Gould obtaining control. he now
has, of the leading line and oil the affiliated lines
from New York to San Francisco, who affiliate
himself with the leading and best citizens of New
York and throughout the country. with career
Robin Hood-that. say. creates communstic spirit.
rebellion and honest indignation in the spirit
laws H ns are sas
and are always powerful and greatly
powerful against the small ones. When these
gentlemen speak Of the communistic spirit they
must not forget that 1t is not words alone that raise
it. Words alone have no power to raise it, There
patent the facts which existed before 1889 i'll the
French community and which raised storm of in
dgnation that cut of heads burned buildings, tore
down the Bastile and created reign OF terror for
years. MIR. Depew has intimated thst only the nine
thousand idiots as he calls them. who voted for Mr.
Lewis, felt that there something wrong in rela
ton to the railroad management. But both parties
recognized this to be an important and vital ques-
tion Both parties pledged themselves to remedy
the evils. the justice of the complaint against which
was by them conceded.
1.-The great fact Of determinations was proved by
the special rate books Of the New York Central Rail-
road as contrasted with their regular tariffs. The
utterly fictitious character of the construction 40
count Of the New York Central was developed before
this naittee by Mr.. Robortsons q committee. We
have annually prepared for tho State Engineer
cooked account the part Of that railroad. which
there Is q pretended credit to construction of mill
ions of dollars annually which never takes place.
literally for thing II the present system Is to con-
tinue, which allows them to have d free warren as
to taxation upon the people OF the State Of New
York. When insisted upon the appointment Of .
proper railroad commission. under law which the
experience OF other nations and another State
had proved to be useful. was reminded that
there formerly was railway commission
which abolished year after 1t created. The
railway companies procured the repeal of the law by
connivance with the leading Commissioner to make
no opposition in consideration of payment to him
of the whole amount os his salary for five years.
"A REAL GRIEVANCE"
"It has been shown that absolutely the rates from
Chicago on east bound traffic were lower than the
lowest rates from our own westernmost city. This
Is not q sentimental grievance. Mill after mill we
abandoned. Railway charges in that respect arc
absolutely analogous to taxation. We started with
the idea that In railway matters competition would
regulate tho price OF service. But where combine
tion can step In the law Of competition longer sp-
plies. Competitive points come TO be combi-
nation or pool points. The theory upon which our
railway legislation has proceeded is false The com
pctitors have combined and all the railways under
the superintendence of Mr. Fink practically say to
the people-rherr shall be no competition from one
end Of this land TO the other.
again 6OOO cases of special contracts A TO local
traffic alone are revealed by this testimony in tho
case Of the New York Central Railroad. The bust
keep the people quiet and differs not n the least
from the method adopted by an Eastern monarch
for the government OF Of his satrspies The true
explanation OF the whole special rate system that in
1865 there was tariff Of extraordinarily high war
prices for freghts all the lines Of railroads. In
stead of subjecting the local tariff to TO Keen
pace downward with the fall Of prices the RAILWAYS
attempted to retain the rates. giving way only
az individual pressure was brought to bear upon
greater and therefore, % wiSoS. sSSsr sSsory ana nd
she wPe tpr
ways yielded to this pressure until II has become
structure without foundation. without cohesion and
injurious to every interest OF society IL In the finn
siest OF all pretences that the local traffic bo
done In any other way As to the through trac where
competition prevails to much larger an extent.
the railways have abandoned special rates by com-
bined action. There Is safety to the community
except IN the compulsory division of the charge for
reasonable profit added thereto. II the state should
refuse to In this direction, to do would
inal code. We ought to have unit OF shipment Of
retail against Wholesale. Every little shipper has
right to become big shipper in course OF time, and
the ralroads system prevents 1t. The corporations
have argued down strictly pro rdfd freight bill.
Such bill AIN not prepared to justify. but the rail
roads have no right 70 charge absolutely more for
The com rnittoe then adjourned until this morning
st ten o'clock. when Mr.. stsrns wu resume his A.