Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-05-06
SENATOR GoRMAN ON TIE INTER
STATE COMMERCE BILL.

SENATOR GORAAN ON THE 1NrEH-
STATE COMMERCE BILL.
As the Interstate Commerce bill is OF so
much Importance to this secuion and is
likely to become q law, some points oil the
speech Of Senator GoRNAS, of Maryland,
are worth noticing. Senator GoRNAN ID q
member of the Select Committee On inter
State commerce, and says it 10 the unsnl-
nous Judgment of the committee that the
bill will correct many of the abuses that
have sprung up in the railroad system OF the
country. He is strongly IN favor OF Sens
tor CAuDEx's amendment and says Sens-
tor HARRIS and himself had Intended to In
troducs q similar amendment.
There have been numerous attempts to
regulate freight charges both, in England
aud this country, but they have with but
few exceptions proven failures. Mr.. Cor
NAN accounts for this IL the fact that near
" all these efforts have fallen into
tie error Of trying to fix an ar
bitrsry rate per ton or mile. DE
SAWS: But in this matter Of the long and
short haul every railroad expert, l think,
who appeared before the committee, every
writer upon the subject, both in THE coun'
try aid EGglaGd, admit that s. rule which
prohibits a railroad company from charg'
i1g more for hauling a car load 800 miles
than is charged for hauling a car load 1000
miles over the same road and in the sam
direction is just and proper Exceptions
may occur, he says, but the law should not
oe made 80 rigid as 70 make injustice IN
these exceptions. As an example OF the
success possible for such q law be refers to
the STATE of Ohio, where they have q law
similar 10 the amendment proposed by Mi
| CAMDEN. The railroads there are pros
porous. There never has been any proper
complaint made By the managers OF those
roads. Mary Of them are owned and con
trolled by corporations 8jthin my State
and they have never complained or the ex
/ actions of that law, because they knew tina
it ia Just aud fair, aud when properly EN-
forced they had no right to complain
The tariffs Of the Pennsylvania Railroad
are so arranged that no higher charge l.
made from anys,a'ion east Of Pit;sburg t.
Philadelphia than from PittsOurg to Phila
delphis. or from soy station this side o.
Chicago than from Chicago.
Mr.. GoRNAS says that the success tina
has attended the plan pursued by tn
Pennsylvania railroad has caused a grea
many railroad men to change their opin
ions about the pracicabi!ity Of a law regu
lstiug freight. To those who say the ex
cepious can not De provided for, he ans
wers by quoting the following section a
amended by Senator CAMDEN:
sEr. 1 That i, shall bs unlawful for any com
mon carrier 20 Clarge or receive a y greater com
psIsation In the aggregate Tor the transportation q
| pl.ssUgers or property sub eCt ~ the provisions D
This act Tor u shorter than Tor a longer distance uyel
the same line, ia tn same direction; Pr0rtisd
| hEt-srp-. That uDou application to tue COmmisSinI
appointed und-r the provisions OF this act, Sucl
common carrier may, in sps lal c ses, be author
izcl 70 charge less for longer than Tor shorter dis
taueSs for the transportation ot passengers o prop
I s-ty: ard the COMM lou may Irum tine TO tlmt
/ rr4Ea uGnaral ruIp4 rnyariuu EEpanffn1 rs L. guv sugl
I common carrier, Ia CaS.S where thefe Is COmpstl
ton by river, sea, canal .r lake, eNempting sucl
designated common CARRIER in such spTrlal case
! from the operation OF this section Of this act; AM
when such exceptions shall have been made .aul
! publishC I thgy shall have like force and effect a
I though the . ne had teen specified In This section
Mr.. GosMNS then says; Il submit thai
the section as ! have read it, provided the
amendment OF the Senator from West Yir
giuis is adopted, comes precisely within th'
rule lsid down by the commission Of New
York. It comes within the rule that is il
operation upouthe PennsylSsnia Railroad
1t is the rule which would do eXsct justice
to every section of this country
He then goes on to give examples o
some Of the great evils that would be rem
edied. He Gays:
To day the rule is that you can hsve
car transported from the City of Chicago
to Baltimore or New York city for one bal
the charge you can move that car from
any non-competing Ioint In the valley O
tine Ohio river to the city of Baltimore Oh
New York, and this on all traffic, grain
oil, beef, lumber. Lumber csa be brought
from the forests Of Michigan cheaper thar
sou can move ij from Wheeling to the crt]
Of Baltimore over the same road 10 the saut
direction with 70 greater possible cost FOL
moving l ton per mile than the other.
Here is a point he makes that many
may not have thought Of and which, il
these times Of labor discussions, makes tie
wisdom of Senator GAMDEN's amendment
to the CULLOu DILL all the more evident;
| have no question myself, from the ex'
animation Of the subject, that these great
fortunes, growing up from tens TO hun.
drsds OF millions, of gentlemen connected
with the transportation interests have been
in q great measure owing to tAvoritism by
almost all the railroads of the country. |