Omaha daily bee., 1881-06-24

~ NhAA0 % WttAo AoAi VI Bhoohkt
The power OF the monopolies, VIII,
had pooled their interests to concen
trate all their energies in opposition
to the anti.railroad element, mad,
itself felt even among member
of the legislature who wer,
pledged to vote for a measure which
would assert the power of the peopl,
over the corporations. After a Ions
consultation of the railroad manager
it was determined to kill every othei
bill but the Doane law. The Doan,
law was admitted to be the most lib
eral in its provisions which had beer
offered for passage, and the corpora.
tions saw in the wide latitude which
it offered To their managers ample op
p%ortunity to show in a still create,
degree the power of m%onopoliet
throughout the state.
It was only as a compromise, which
was vigorously opposed by the
rank and file of the anti-monopoly
forces, that the Doane bill became q
law. Such corporation cappers az
Church Howe and a number of pro.
fessed anti-monopolists who were
really acting with the corporations,
aided in securing It's passage. Those
mombers of the legislature who saw
that no other measure could become a
law, and who felt it incumbent to
plant themselves squarely on the
record as fulfilling their sworn oath,
also voted for the Doane law as the
best attainable under the circum.
stances.
The Doane law fixed no rates. 1t
simply provided that they should be
no higher than the published tariffs of
the roads at the time of it's passage.
It decreed that every shipper of the
same class of goods should be treated
alike, and no greater sum should no
charged for a shorter than for q
longer distance. These plain and
equitable boundaries, within which
the railroads might operate, were laid
down in order to afford the corpora
tions full latitude and ample time in
which to accommodate themselves to
the changed order of affairs.
1t was left entirely to
the railroads how they would
apply the bill, whether to the de tri-
ment of the people or in the spirit of
the law to the mutual advantage of
the corporations and patrons.
The Doane law provided that no
special rates should be given to ship
pers, and that rates to local stations
should not be greater than to points
beyond. This provision called for
an immediate equalization of the tar
if, owing to the past policy of the
corporations in charging greater rates
per mile for local traffic than for
through freight. The law in
sisted that the rate from
Omaha to Fremont should not
be greater than that from Omaha to
Elkhorn or Valley, or. that from Lin
coin to Crete greater than from Lin
coin to Hastings. To obey the man.
date of the law two courses were open
to the railroads, to lower local rates
on the basis of the through tariff or to
raise the through rates proportionately
to tho local tariff. BY the first of
these plans a general reduction in
rates would have ensued and the evil
dent intention of the law carried out;
by the latter, tariff rates would be gem
orally increased and the law turned
to the great disadvantage of the
public.
The railroads have seen fit to follow
the latter course, and the present ex-
orbitant local rates have been extend
cd in their operation to all points in
the state. Cities which heretofore
have obtained their freight at rates
when compared with smaller towns,
villages and way stations, are now
forced, under the railroad application
of tho law, to pay largely increased
freight charges over the former
figures. Instead of lowering local
rates, through rates have been raised
and the very liberality of the law has
been taken advantage of to make
the measure odious, and to raise tho
cry that all anti-monopoly agitation
must be..no less injurious to the peo-
pie than to the corporations. Monop-
oily organs like the Republican cheek
lily tell US that the Doane law is Grip
ping Nebraska's interests, running
her.industries and raising the price
of groceries and provisions, while the
monopolies, those d~isinterested bene-
factors of the people, regretfully con-
template the disastrous work of an
anti-monopolv legislature.
This is the sheerest bosh. The
Doane law contains within itself a
remedy for all the existing evils.
Proper application of its provisions
to the operation of the railroads