The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1885-06-16
VIEWS AND VIEWS
THAT THE SENATE COMMITTEE pa.
TlEN7fi-Y LISTENS TO.
How Railways Should lie Run, According
to Various Western Opinion Some
Instructive Figures Rail
way News-Canadian Pacific.

CHICAGO, June l6 The senate committee
continued its investigations into the subject
OF inter state commerce at the Grand Pacific
hotel Monday. The Milwaukee board Of
trade sent the following representatives to
give their views on the subject Charles A.
Chaplin, citing president; Robert Eliot, Ed
ward Sanderson, Charles Ray, E. p Bacon,
l. II. Lowry and j. B. Merrill
Edward J. Martyr, of P. D. Armour It
Co, was examined while the committee was
waiting for the Milwaukee gentlemen. Mr.
Martyr has charge of the transportation for
his firm. He thought there was no serious
abuses aboutsthe transportation ofstaple pro-
ducts out of Chicago He complained, how
ever, of the rates charged for carrying live
hogs east which were too low, and said
packed meats were too high, although a
pool existed, the object of which was to
make.things square. The business was done
by allowing rebates
The witness was in favor of federal inter
ference in the matter, if it could be brought
about Primarily pool was organized to
further the interests of the railroads, and
| only served the public when it could not
help it. Last winter the schedule pool ol-rate
was IS cents on provisions, but there was not
packer of any importance here who did not
| get 10-cent rebate. The pool always
worked against the shipper of provisions
and the shipper of live stock, and that was
| what he objected to- He did not believe in
| a system of rebates. Congress, however
| sho uh touch the subject of inter state COM
merce very lightly until they saw how far
they could go.
| H. r. Hobart, of The Railway Age, was
next examined He said the railway mile
age at the beginning of 1885 was 125. 500
miles of main line The capital stock was
IS, $50 100000 The bonded indebtedness
was So, 939, 100000 The apparent invest
ment in railroads, therefore, was 81, S95,
100000 The roads employed about
725, 600 men These directly sup
ported 100000 men, women and chill
dren, and indirectly many millions more,
No other business interests makes such small
returns on its investment, and no other was
suffering so much. During the past nine
years 3)6 roads, with 81, $50 miles of track,
were sold under foreclosures. This wa;
about 90 per cent of the total mileage Of
the country During the first five months
of the present year thirty-one roads were
placed in the hands of receivers which wa'
almost equal to the whole of last year
They were suffering from too much legis
lation and competition. Too much competi
ton was an injury to the general public
He thought federal commission to act a
arbitrators might overcome some Of th'
present trouble He thought prohibition
of rebates and the publishing of rates woulC
tend to prevent much OF the evil, but not en-
tirely overcome it Railway men by thei
efforts to get trade are dishonest to eacl
other
While Witness Hobart was tsstifying tn
Milwaukee delegation, headed by Mr.
Charles A. Chaplin, and embracing Mr.. Chas
Ray and others arrived. Mr.. Charles A
Chaplin, acting president of the Milwauke
board of trade, was the first vii
ness The witness said that his ex
perience was that many railroad
made a practice of giving 'rebat
rates" rather than straight fiat rates" 70
the simple purpose of getting into thei
hands funds of shippers which they nigh
retain for while, which was really fioatin
indebtedness, but which never showed up i
the railroad statements. If rebat
even to small amounts were r,
tanned by the roads unjustly the a!
gregate would amount to million
The witness declared that in two shipment
he had tied up 81, l00 The shipments ha
been made over year ago, and the resu
had been that these two corporations ha
really made forced loans aggregatin
81, 100 from the witness, and he did ne
know yet when he would get his money
Mr. Robert Elliot, of Milwaukee, was Il
next witness, and covered in all interestin
way the same points as Mr. Chaplin.