Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-07-03
INTERSTATE ccMMEec,

INTER- STATE CcMMERcr
The Senate Committee Holds a &c.,,
Chicago-Several Prominent Im,naoat
Give Their Views Regarding the R."1aa
tion of Railroads.&c. Variety of o,,salA
Expressed-A Government Commn:''oa
Generally Favored.
CHICAGO, June 13.-The United G..
Senate Committee on Interstate Conn.,
met yesterday at the Grand Pacific ms s .
Senators Cullom, of Illinois, Isham, Of W.
nessee, and Plat, of Connecticut hs'
present Senators Miller, of New W.
and German, of Maryland, will not h.,
ent for several day S. Senator Cullom s.s.
the object of the inquiries was to find ons
possible if anything should or could
done to regulate commerce between !
States; to hear complaints of tbe u
pie against railroads, and to hear tha
swers OF the railroad men. General .1oh.1
Rinaker, President of the State Railwa"a
Warehouse Commission, was the fire.;
ness examined. General Rinaker
nounced himself in favor of a GOVERN
Commission which should be simnlr
board of arbitrator, not having !
power, but simply to recommend their n
ings to Congress. 1t would be dificult
fix rates by law, although some legisls.
by Congress was badly needed. 7
man who ships one car of ri
charged mort in proportion than
who ships one hundred carloads.
cause that would freeze out the smaller
the small shippers were encouraged the
riers would be benefited in the end.
a general statement he would say
q law should be passed prohibiting an
backs and rebates to shippers, eSl
! where such drawbacks and rebates
meant to correct mistakes. It should
the statute, but the Federal CommiS
| should have control of the matter.
Marshall Field was then called. Fla
not know of any rates which Were
high at present. In fact, he thm
the railroads were suffering from
rates just now. He had no comm
to make against the transnd
ton companies. He did not
whether or not his house had any adj
tages over other importers in rates. He
not in favor of regulating rates by law
cause lake and river rates would h
creased in the summer, and that would 4
tate against the shipper. In repanj
the prohibition of drawbacks and
bates, he did not see why railr
should not be allowed to run \
business as private individuals run mi
He refused to say whether his house
received rebates. He thought railroad
ing should not be prohibited but legal
as it was advantageous in many rcSp
He thought the Government should n
tain a system Of water routes. He NJ
friend Of the Hennepin Canal, as it "
be a good thing for the country wei
Chicago.
f. Z. Lewis, ex-menber of the hi
Railroad and Warehouse Commission,
that the roads in Illinois seemed to wa
live up to the law and have recognized
suggestions of the Commission. 1t
resulted in a great reduction
rates. The rates have been
lower by the roads than
rates set by the Commission. Out Of
or sixty roads in Illinois only nine OIL
were now dividend-paying. There
been only occasional complaints of e
ton on the part of the roads.
regulation of commerce. could mol
brought about except by inter.
regulation. He was in favor of a Go
ment arbitration commission. He
not opposed to pools if CHI
were regulated by law. The
%tenance of the illinois & Mcl
Canal resulted in a lower raft
railroads which a through TERRITORY
tiguous to the canal. This reduction
technical violation of the law, but it
be unjust to the people living in sud
calities to cut off the benefits derived
the canal.
Ex-Railroad Commissioner W. n. D
erd gave it as his opinion that the
method of preventing the practice 0
tortion and unjust discrimination byo
rations engaged i'll Interstate COM
was to establish a Federal comm
with power to fix maximum
OF freights and fares to be made p
The commission should be empowered
low determinations that were not uni
their character. He thought the ratei
charged were reasonable, with the exca
of some roads in the extreme Westerns
and Territories. Large shippers )
be allowed concessions where the
expense of handling large ship
is less than in small shipments, but nd
concessions should be allowed. Till
poratlons engaged in interstate com
should adopt a uniform system
counts; should be required to make
reports to the Government, giving
actual cost and value of their
and equipment, earnings, exp
etc. He thought that canals rd
the cost of transportation
the Government should aid such
routes. In answer to a question byS
Plat, MI. Brainerd said that the
lie sentiment in Illinois would v
the passing of a law Furnishing
parties engaged in overcapliali
Of a railroad corporation.
ring to the work of the Illinois ID
and Warehouse Commission, he SAY
the rates of transportation had b1
duced fully forty per cent. within y
thirteen years, a result which he u
was due to competition and the "a
sion. He thought the average rates
nois We're lower than any other SaF
Union.