The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1889-09-05
1NTER-srArE COMMERCE LAW.

INTER-sTATE COMMERCE LAW.
Gov. Ames of Massachusetts,, recently
delivered himself of remarkable utter
ance which has been seized upon by the
Democracy as showing his conversion to
Free Trade doctrines, when in truth he
was but stating fact apparent to many.
And now comes Congressman Morse of
the same State emphasizing the state
ments of Gov. Ames and attributing the
present depression in New England
manufactures to the Interstate Com.
merce Law-that fetch of old women,
Changers and doctrinaires. Mr.. Morse
says:
In the recent letter from Gov. Ames
upon the depression of New England in
dustries occurs this passage {: "He
charges to the Inter State Commerce lao
a part of the loiU condition Of the Neio
England iron business, and regards The
ldtO as needless and untoise interference
tpith the LatCs of trade. He says the rail-
roads ought to be free to compete as they
please under the natural conditions
of trade tUithont interference on
the part of Government" Now, write
this letter to say that Gov. Ames is
right, and that the iron business is not
the only New England industry that has
been injured by this very bad law. In
my judgment, never in the history OF
country was there any law ever enacted
by Congress that struck 80 serious a
blow to the manufacturing business OF
New England. A few illustrations will
be in order to prove this. Formerly the
house of Samuel Cupple Wooden Ware
Company of st. Louis, Mo-, which is I'M
doubleday the largest distributing house
IN the West, bought their cordage large
ly and principally in New England and
Of the Plymouth Cordage Company in
my district. The Interstate Commerce
law DEGREES that railroad shall sell at
wholesale the same as at retail, and this
great house cannot get freight on 20 or
80 carloads of cordage at any less than
on one carload. The result is that they
buy their cordage at nearer market, in
Pennsylvania and in Ohio, and New
England loses the business. There Is
stone quarry at Fitzwilliams, N. 81. that
prior to the Interstate Commerce law
was getting out paving stones for West
ern cities. The cars come East loaded
with grain and rather than go back
empty the railroads will take these paw
ing etones at nominal and low freight on
a long haul. The long and short haul
clause of the law forbids, and the cars
are drawn back empty, and Cincinnati
and other Western cities buy their pay
ing stones nearer home. The quarries
at Fitzwilliams are closed and $50 New
England men are thrown out of employ
ment.
Much is being said now against trusts:
the law favors trusts. The sugar trust
has four refineries in New England, and
there is no reason why they cannot make
sugar in New England as cheap as any
where else, but the long and short haul
clause Of the law leads them to close
three of those factories permanently,
running one to supply the New England
demand and throwing the employees Of
all the Others out of work, and they
manufacture the balance of the sugar
elsewhere in New York and other places
nearer the market where it is sold. A
railroad man of large knowledge and
experience told me to day that the
figures showed that fully 80 per cent. of
the railroad business formerly done by
New England railroads had been lost to
them by the Interstate Commerce law.
A few illustrations of this will be proper.
He said once where he had 70 carloads
Of sugar shipped from the refineries of
New England to the West he now has
only five carloads.
Caustic soda from England and palm
oil from Africa for the great soap man
ufacturers of Chicago and Cincinnati
formerly went through the port of Bos-
ton and was forwarded over New Eng
land railroads. Soda Ash from England
for paper manufacturers in the West,
dyewood from South America for Chi
cago and st. Louis, rags from London
and Liverpool, bound to Cincinnati, Mid
dletown and Miamisburg, Ohio, all for
merly went through the port of Boston
and over New England railroads, but the
long and short haul clause of the law
forbids this business, and to get the low
est freight it must seek inland ports,
and all this business is lost to New Eng
land In consequence of the law. The
boot and shoe business, one of the lar
gest industries in New England, is NOV
ing West and South for exactly the
same reason, and in my judgment much
that is being charged to the protective
tariff by our Democratic opponents is
entirely due to this unwise and unjust
on the part of the Govern
ment with competition is the carrying
business.
l believe in protection Of our indus
tries from foreign competition, but on the
other hand believe in the largest posi-
BILE free trade between the forty.two
great States of the Union, which this
law interferes with. The law originated
in Texas, where the Mills bill did. One
effect of 1t has been to stop railroad
building, depressing the iron business,
which has reacted upon all other busl-
ness. Another effect of the law has
been to give all the business to the Trunk
Line monopolies, and to embarrass and
il continued, ultimately to fail, the cir
cuitous roads. Another effect has been
to drive business away from American
railroads to parallel and competing rail-
roads in Canada, where we are powerless
to enforce our law, and the Canadians,
am sure, will not be guilty of any such
foolishness. / was surprised that the
which recently sat in Boston,
il they desired to know the opinion OF
New England in regard to the working
Of the law, did not invite some Of the
wholesale merchants in Boston, or some
of the manufacturers Of New England,
to testify. l have large acquaintance
with the manufacturers Of New Eng
land, and do not know a single one
who does not entertain the same view of
the law which Gov. Ames expressed,
quoted at the beginning Of this article.
/ doubt if the law can be repealed at
present, or until the people know more
Of its working, because the Trunk Line
which are reaping the bene
fit of It will oppose it, and second, be-
cause of the entirely misleading and
rose-colored views of the workings Of
the law telegraphed over the country by
the Interstate Commerce Commission
ers, who are deeply interested in its con-
tinuance. II the law anywhere or in
any spot or place has righted any
am sure it has created vastly
greater ones, and the sooner we return
to the "let alone' policy, under which
this country enjoyed railroad develop
ment and prosperity unprecedented in
the history Of States or Nations, the bet |
ter.
President Harrison on Saturday an
several appointments. including