St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-12-20


ing, II honestly conducted, gave . stability
IN the rate Of freight and equal terms TO
every customer, and carried out the great
principle Of equal rights TO all men, How
should the evils Of the pooling arrangement
be oEercomei The gentleman from Texas
(Reagsn) said BY the abolition Of pooling.
That would consign the country to the chaos
from which pooling had extracted it. Let it
be regulated by the appointment Of q com
mission A commission is approved by the
judgment Of men familiar with the subject,
but q bill to abolish pooling would be con-
trary TO their judgment.
At this point HeEitt's time expired. and
Mr.. Warner, Of Ohio, obtained the floor and
yielded IT TO him. To this arrangement Mr..
Reagan objected, on the ground that It had
been already very protracted- Hewitt replied,
the voice Of New York had not been heard in
paralyZe the voice OF New York, let him take
the consequences.
Reagan withdraw the objection. Let
the voice of New York be heard.
Mr. Hewitt The voice of New York has
not been heard in this debate. Its voice has
been silent because men Of business of New
York despair Of wise legislation on these
great commercial questions by the house.
They have seen this house resist the resump-
ton Of specie payment They have seen
this house thrust silver bill down the re-
luctsut Threats Of the unwilling community,
and now they behold this house, and this
side Of it, forcing reaetionary measures on
! the commerce. Of the country, which will i'm
peril the business OF New York, which is the
throat Of the commerce Of the coudtry. Con-
tinuing, Mr.. Hewitt said the proposition Of
the gentleman from Texas was that no alter
-. ID IN 81
commerce except that five DAYS notice.
There was an impression that congress could
determine the conditions on which business
should be done. Ali il could do would be to
prevent western and southern producers
from getting access 10 the open markets Of
the world. The congestion which now pre-
vailed in every part Of the country, con-
gestion Of the products Of labor and capital,
was due 10 the fact that the channels Of COM
merce had been damned up by protective
obstruction laws. This, the gentleman from
Texas, would increase. II this bill passed,
steamships would 90 unladen, and the CON-
merce Of the port Of New York, which was
the outlet for the commerce Of the country,
would be utterly psralyzed.
Mr.. Reagan said that the gentleman's
great objection TO the pooling section Of the
bill seemed to be that il would compel the
clerks. II the gentleman had read the bill
4 little further be would have seen It pro-
vided that schedule Of rates should be
posted up. II was proposed by law to remedy
what the gentleman proposed to remedy by
giving railroads the right to pool. He (Rea-
GAM would restore to the people the right Of
com petition, which would compromise rates
Of freight, and would take from the railroads
the power 10 enrich themselves and impov-
erish the people. The gentleman from New
York would not vote for any provision Of the
bill, and purposed TO oppose every effort to
lay the restraint of legislative regulation on
the power Of these corporations 10 rob and
plumber the people.
Mr.. Dunn favored the provision of the
bill, and in conclusion said: ''The gentle
man speaks Of the voice Of New York not be-
ing heard. II Is the hand Of New York that
is felt on the throat of this country, and that
makes this legislation necessary. Let the
gentleman remember that. Let New York
slack this grip, and this legislation win not
be necessary.
Mr.. Hewitt's amendment was lost 10 TO CO.
Mr.. Hewitt then offered an amendment
permitting pooling contracts when they were
reasonable and just. He denied be was OPP
posed 10 legislation on the sueject of inter
state commerce.
Mr.. Regain announced his willingness to
support the commerce bill. Experience has
established pools and pools have established
commission. The time had arrived when
the public should be recognized on COM
mission. BE called attention 10 the
fact that in 1874 It cost twenty-eight
and seventeenth eents TO transport bushel
Of grain from Chicago to New York, while
last year the rate had fallen to thirteen cents.
This reduction had been accomplished by
pooling and regulating pooling.
Mr.. Phelps thought the discussion had dis
closed the unwisdom and injustice of this
bill. 1t was en- attempt to regulate railway
management in all cases when these cases
were infinite in number and variety. How
absurd it was to think those cases could be
all held in the same cast-iron grasp. The
railroads would every time evade, elude and
openly disobey these regulations and appeal
TO the people, and the people would remit
the penalty. The people were satisfied with
the reformed progress which bad been made
by the great national laws. Had these laws lost
their powers; was not competition greater
and more powerful now than ever before!
In New York 1t had once been said that
nothing but the national treasury could ever
build rival for the Pennsylvania, Erie and
New York Central roads. But the law of
Of competition had stepped in, and $780,
000, 900, gathered without public solicitation,
had been thrown in the Nickel Plate and
West Shore roads TO stand as a representa-
tive power of competition. The great power
of public opinion had never acted as quickly
as il did now, and never were railways
so sensitive to it. II the bill passed
the railroads would do one of two things,
one was TO violate every provision of II
and ill the courts so full OF actions against
them that the wheels Of justice would be
blocked. This would attract public attention
and public attention would give redress.
The only other thing for the railroads to do
was 20 give an order which would send every
locomotive into the round house, and the ST.
lence which followed would be felt from
Portland, Oregon, tn Portland, Maine, and
in that stiffness sc, 900, 600 people would hear
the only word which could be heard-the IA
miliar voice of the speaker when he said
''The gentleman from Texas asks a unani-
nous consent to pass s bill repeating
the interstate commerce act" And
nothing further would be heard
except the prompt question, SIS there objee-
ZION gu and Just so sure as thunder followed
ihe lightning the answer would be mo OBJ
lection" Applause on the Republican
side.
Mr.. Cox, Of New York, favored Mr.. Rea-
gan's bill.
At this point Mr.. Ermintrout presented
from the committee on account a privileged
resolution regulating the manner in which
the expenses Of the committee investigating
the conduct Of Marshal Lot Wright should be
discussed. dispute arose as to the occu-
pancy of the floor BY Mr.. Keifer and the Re-
publicans feeling aggrieved by the ruling Of
the speaker demanded yeas and nays on the