Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1882-04-27
md the states which amounts to a pro.

they deny, some of them wholly an
ungualiGeily, this constitutional pOwf
of congress and state Legislatures t
regulate and control the terms a
which they shall carry merchandise.
These claitus he criticised as want
ing in truth, Justice, reason and la"
He read from the decisions of th
supreme court in Thomas against rail
road companies, Chicago, Burlington
and Quincy Railloa w. Iowa, an,
Marion VS.. Illinois, to show that tb
transporting between states is subjec
to congressional authority. The deDia
of this authority by the railroad at
torneys, he said, showed one of tw,
things-either that they are ignOran
of the law, and utterly reckless in thei
statements, or that they have been of
fensively presunptuous in assuming
that the committee were ignorant o
the law. lie further alluded to TIN
opinions expressed by the railroad at
torneys rs being weak and wicked, ant
said of McVeagh's statements il
particular that they were extra
ordinary. lie spoke of the large
fees paid these attorneys out OF
money "uDjustly extorted from yOuI
constituents and mine" Abiding tc
the arguments of the railroad men in
favor of leaving the power with the
company to discriminate, he asked the
committee: "Does any one here con
scientiOusly believe that there is one
word Of truth, reason or justice in their
statements of the subject2 Can any
sane man be made to believe that
wrong Is right, that injustice is just,
that there is 10 such thing as reason
and 6rmness?' In his opinion the
qualifications required to deal with
this question were an honest conscience
and a principle of right. The system
of rebates lie den .unced as dishonest
gambling method by which the cOrpor.
ations "swindled their stockholders
while they robbed the public" The
railroads he said denied the practica-
ability of his bill, because they tried TO
test it by their methods, and found it
incompatible with their continuance,
and, because they could not be recon-
cled, claim that the bill is wrong.
Speaking with reference to the anti
pooling clause in his bill, he said his
objections TO pooling arrangements
were, first that they destroyed COM
petition in freight charges; second that
they make one great monopoly out of
several small ones; third that pooling
secures TO the roads the right to levy
any etactiOns on the commerce they
carry which their cupidity may de.
mand; fourth, that it enables the COM
ranies to make their roads the
means OF oppression and wrong
10 the people to whotr they are
indebted for their charters, N(th
that such a power never had been
and never can be safely surren-
dsred by free people to a few men,
who deny their responsibility 10 the
public. Heretofore there has always
been three remedies for the grasping
character of the railroad corporations
tile competition of waterways, an
expected increase in the number of
railroads and consequent competition
between them, and the power OF
congress to regulate them fer the pro.
lection of the public. Alluding to the
statements of the railroad men that
the prohibition of pooling would re-
silt In a disastrous railroad war, he
said: Would it not be better that
$4,000 men should rob each other in
the way most agreeable to themselves
than that 50,0C0,0O0 people should be
robbed by the railroad men"
The failure of the present method Of
business and management of railroad
experts, was hitherto because it was
based upon wrong principle ard worse
practice; because they disregardrd
business principles and rules, and
common fairness and honesty.
He closed with the statement that
while most Of the railroad men deny
the constitutional power of congress
to legislate respecting transportation
by railroads so as to protect people
against their rapacity and injustice,
they ask that congress shall so lesis'
late as to sanction their pooling ar
rangements. "If congress can control
the one" he added, "surely it can con-
troll the other"
On the conclusion of Judge Reagan
remarks, Ex-Governor Brown, of Ten
nessee, asked the committee if the rail.
road men would be allowed an oppor.
tunity to reply to some of Judge Rea-
gan's assertions. Chairman Page an
swered that they would not, as their
time was exhausted. Gov. Brown
warmly protested against the assertions
of Judge Reagan regarding the railroad
astorneys going before the public with
out the latter having an opportunity TO
reply. Mr.. Page, to smooth the matter
over volunteered the assertion that
Judge Reagan would, perhaps, consent
to have the offensive matter expunged
from his speech. This brouhgt Reagan
to his feet, and he declared in an eX-
cited manner, that he was prepared to
stand by what he had said, and would
make his remarks even stronger in the
House. There appeared for moment
a prospect for an excited wrangle.
Gov. Brown became excited and assert
ed the right of the railroad men to a
hearing. Chairman Page and other
members of the committee insisted that
the discussion should not be prolonged,
Gov. Brown said Judge Reagan had
individualized his charges and he ap'
pealed to the committee whether or
not he TBrowDl had been duly courte.
GUS in his argument before the COM
mittee, or whether or not he bad made
any assertions inconsistent with the
truth. Judge Reagan finally said he
would qualify his remarks as far as
they applied to Gov. Brown by simply
saying that his Browns statements
were extraordinary. This ended the
difficulty.
A Hint to Lovers OF Flowers.
A most beautiful and easily attained
show of evergreens may be had by q
very simple plan, which has been
found to answer remarkably well on a
small scale. If geranium branches,
taken from luxuriant and healthy