Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1888-03-01
IOWA AND ILLINOIS COMPARED.

With these remarkable differences in the sit
uation Of the two States, is 1t fair that the Leg
islature of Iowa shall insist local rates % to
40 per cent below the local rates now in force
in the State Of nlinoisl What must follow an
attempt to force Illinois law in Iowa is pain
fully manifest to every reasonable mind The
result must be that every distinctiyely Iowa
road must go into bankruptcy and be absorbed
by the trunk lines When this shall be ac-
complished, the next step is easy to foresee,.
The trunk lines have then only to agree among
themselves when they can readily put up the
rate ON the so per cent of the Iowa Interstate
business and thus recoup all the profits lost on
the local freight by the act of our Legislature.
Is 1t wise to force railroads into such pro-
ceeding Perhaps some one WIN say that com
petition ON trans-Mssouri river business will
prevent the railroads from raising the Iowa
Interstate rates from Iowa points to Chicago.
The answer to this is easy. There are two lines
of railroads from Omaha to Chicago which do
not pass through Iowa at all, namely, the Chi
cago & Alton road, with its connection with the
Missouri Pacific, and the Chicago, Burlington
& Quincy down the west bank of the Missouri
river to st. Joseph, and thence over the
now their property, to Chicago. On the
north, the Chicago, st. Paul, Minneapolis and
Omaha road has line from Omaha crossing
small section of the northwestern part of this
State where the local business is small and
which strikes the Chicago 81 Northwestern
railway In Southern Minnesota, and thence
goes to Chicago. As the entire transMissouri
river tonnage centering at Omaha is only two
million tons, these roads could very easily car
nv 1t all and thus leave the trunk lines through
Iowa to make the interstate rates from Iowa
points to Chicago sufficiently large to repay
them for all local business lost by the proposed
reduction of rates by our Legislature.
INCREASING THE COMMISSIONS POWERS.
But the question still remains: what is the
proper power to give the Railway Commission
ers Shall it be made their duty to make the
rates for all the railroads in Iowa, or shall they
be empowered to reduce them on complaint, or
on their own motion and after hearing ac-
corded the railways. 1t is plain that the Rail
way Commissioners, being wholly inexperienced
in freight rates, must rely either upon the rail
way freight men or the shippers for their infor
nation as to what are fair and just rates. The
practical working of the Illinois law has been
that the jobbers and manufacturers and ship
pers have put a secret, powerful pressure upon
the Commissioners, and practically determined
the freight rates in Illinois without any oppor-
tunity to be heard by the railway officials.
The first knowledge the railways have of what
are to be the maximum rates is when they are
published by the commissioners. The railways
then are obliged to fix their own rates under
the maximum rates, as the laws of competition
and commercial necessity shall demand. II the
railway companies are permitted in the first in
stance to fix their own rates and the commits
sioners are then empowered to reduce them on
complaint the railways will then have an oppor-
tunity to be heard before the reduction takes
place. The railway companies are willing, If
they can be first heard and permitted to place
before the commissioners all the facts and cir
cumstances and the commercial necessities in
regard to their rates, to be bound by the decis-
ion Of the commissioners, subject only to the
right of appeal to the courts, which would prob
ably be seldom if ever exercised.
CHANG 'EM FIRsT-TRY 'EM AFTERwARDs.n
The mischief Of the Illinois law is in the
| power given to the Commissioners to make a
tariff and the putting of the railways on the de-
| fensiye to show that such tariff is a reasonable
| one. The common law remedy of the shipper,
enforced by the Commission, of proving that
| the rate prescribed by the railway is unreason-
able, is as far as the statute should go in that
direction
Under the Illinois law, shippers are wholly
screened from publicity in bringing their press
ure to bear upon the Commission. The practi-
cal effect is to make "Star Chamber inquisi-
4 ton, wherein the railroads have no opportunity
| to be heard, and have no knowledge of the ar
| guments used by the shippers to
reduce rates, nor any opportunity
to answer them. Such system gives an
| opportunity for different classes of shippers
not only to take advantage of the railways by
exparte statements and explanations to the
| Commissioners, but also to take advantage Of
other classes of shippers in other parts of the
| State.
The railway companies say they are willing
to be bound by the decision Of the Commission
ers, after having had fair opportunity to an
swer any complaint made, with the right only
| to appeal to the courts for redress, and are
willing to pay the costs of the appeal whether
they are successful or unsuccessful
FAIR PLAY TO ALL.
There is no longer any force in the argument
that shippers are afraid to make complaint lest
they should suffer from the enmity of the rail
roads. The freight rates are now all public and
all personal. and geographical discrimination is
prohibited and punished by the Interstate com
merce law, by fine of five thousand dol
lars for each offense. Under the old system
prior to the Interstate commerce law
it was dangerous for the shippers to
make complaint, because by secret preferen
tial rate to his rival in business, he could be
ruined; but this is not true in any sense at the
present SINE.
Every indication now Is, that il the always
are left to competition, the interstate rates
will be sufficiently low TO satisfy everybody, and
with the Railway Commission to watch and see
that the local rates are reduced corespondingly
it seems to us that the Legislature and the PEG
pie can Justly demand nothing more.
Railway owners all over the United States are
now watching Iowa with the deepest interest
and are apprehenslve that their properties are
TO be confiscated. We are sure the people OF
Iowa mean no such thing; but on the contrary,
the sober and second thought of Iowa is fan
play, and we believe the sober second thought
israpidly coming. Itmay be that there are few
ambitious men in the Legislature, who are
anxious to reap large political profits to them
selves by pushing extreme measures against the
railroads; but the people at large desire to deal
Justly with the railways and are not demand
ing extreme or radical legislation.
We trust that wise, prudent and conserva
tive counsel may prevail and that such leglsla