Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-03-15

: amepdment proposes to have it? Wher
! they oppose this bill they admit that they are
not willing. But are they to be exempt from
a provision of Law which is 90 reasonable ~
this: If after complaint and investig alton
the board finds. for instance. that SIS is an
! unjust and unreasonable charge for the
transportation of 4 car load of corn from
Danville Junction to Waterville, and fix the
price at sI4. then under the bill that is triMa
face of what is just and reasonable, and the
proper remedies are provided for charging in
!. excess of that rate.
Il had been said that the railroads are so
generous and liberal towards the people that
! there is no occasion for legislative interior
ence. He would not go into the facts rela-
tive TO the rates between different stations,
and it was impossible to do with the
statistics he had been able to procure. He
could only argue in general terms He
would not say that there were eItorti0nate
rates or unjas: discrimination, but declared
tina; there was not business man between
Danville Junction and Bangor that did not
feel that there was an unjust discrimination
against his section a. compared with the
business interests on the river. Is
it proper that we should have q board
Of commissioners to inquire into this
The people want 10 know about it. l. il
proper for them 10 know why il is that the
Maine Central, To illustrate, charges the
same rate for hauling a car load of grain
from Danyille Junction 10 Wateryille,
skowhegan and Pittsteld that it did in 1871:
Is it proper for them 10 know why il is that
while the rates from the West to Danville
junction have constantly declined since 1871,
the Maine Central has the same rates today
that they had 20 years ago: Is it proper for
them to know why a car load Of paving stones
should cost sl4 from Skowhegan to Danville
Junction and only s3y 60 from the Junction
To Chicago. They want TO know why it is
that it should cost % cts. TO carry barrel of
/ -four from Portsmouth TO kittery, distance
Of mi.e and half. while it costs only that
sum TO get it from Boston to Portsmouth.
/ They want to know why the rate for trans
portation of necessities of life from Portland
is the same as it was 20 years ago. They
want to know what there IS about theatrical
company that discrimination of half fare
I should be made in their favor as against the
/ people of the State who live here and sup
! port this system of railroads. The people
want TO know these things, and they have
right to.
/ What is the history Of the Maine Central
Railroadf The roads making up that system
were started by towns and individuals who
put into them their hard earnings. They
were built by the people. Where is the
stock today that was originally subscribed.
To say nothing of assistance from the towns
and cities, foreclosed on years ago, and a
small remnant of watered stock issued in its
place. It became not worth dollar, and by
consolidation one half of the shares were
absolutely wiped out and for the others
duplicates were issued and today that stock
is represented by 80 ,93j shares, %, $50 being
I h.Ii in N.za lima ffa of xxlI 70.
held by the trustees of the Eastern Railroad
which is controlled by the Boston & Maine,
practically London system. Eleven hun
dred of the remaining shares are held by rs
families in Maine, and of the remaining
number POO persons hold one share each
and loo hold 1872. Those 200 people who
hold one share each are of those who put
their money in at the start and they are
willing to have the railroads regulated by law.
He had no sort of enmty toward those %
families who manage and control the Maine
Central. They are entitled to what they
have got by their shrewdness and ability, but
they should not be allowed to run over the
people by controlling legislation. They
should not be allowed to intlict tax beyond
what is just and reasonable upon the people
of the kennebec valley for the purpose of
/ improving and extending their system. We
are told that If we pass this dill the effect
will be to prevent the building of other roads
4 in Maine. Do they mean that they want to
continue this tax upon the people of this val
ley to enable them to extend their system in
other directions? Must We of this valley
pay a bounty for other railroads? If so,
then the money should come from the State
treasury so that the burden may be equally
divided among the people. Let us not have
I "a
another.
! With reference to the practice of granting
passes he said it is an evil which his bill
/ prohibited. SO long as he had known any
thing of legislation the railroads had made
use of their passes when there any
question before the legislature affecting their
interests He had been thus approached this
winter and he characterized such practices
as practical bribery and an outrage upon
members. He submitted that the pass sys-
TEN was rank injustice to the people. He
personally knew of cases where one party
paid a certain freight rate, and anOtl er less
price for the same thing with pass thrown
In. He contended that the pass system was
at the expense of the people for if abolished
the roads could better afford to es
tablsh lower rates. If gentlemen would
look at the passenger rates as print
tu ~ lit cal DUNN
that the average rate from Portland to the
different stations had not been reduced in any
material particular for I or years. The
average passenger rates on roads in the
United States per mile is 2 Is 100 cents His
amendment provided that a single ticket
should be 3 cents per mile, and mileage
tickets cents. The freight rates through
out the country is one cent per mile, con-
slant reductions having taken place since
1852. Is it right that the Maine
Central system should not reduce
its rates while all the other roads in the
country are reducing? 1t is said that the
dividends of that system are increasing. and
is it right that that should be so while other
other roads in New England, though in
creasing their business. have reduced their
passenger and freight rates per mile, and are
making a reduction in their dividends. He
found that in 1879 the total receipts of the
Maine Central including the European and
North American which they did not own at
that time were sl,sl3,075. Nine years later
they were So 3s9, COZ while in the
running expenses he found not proportion
al increase by something like 20 per cent
And they are paying to day full 6 per cent
and from to per cent. on their mortgage
bonds, and yet no practical reduction in rates
to the people Only where water transports-
ton exists and some competition, is there
any reduction. The number of passengers
carried in 1879 was sos, 40. in 1888, L.
52l SOL, and General Manager TUCKER in his
report says that the increase in the trauspor-
tation receipts in SO over 81 is 1882 per
cent. and in freight receipts l+,44 per cent
in other words p per cent. in their gross
earnings. And where is the reduction of
charges to the people?
The matter had been in the legislature be-
fore. In So and 81 it was killed by being
held in the committee and finally referred TO
the next legislature. Ii is here again, back
ed up by petition after petition and the same
tactics of delay have been resorted to, but
finally the committee had gotten up its courage
to report Ought not to pass 1t has now
become square fight between the people
and the railroads, and the duty of this fepub-
lican Senate is, in the interest of justice and
equity to the people, tc pass this bill which is
opposed by corporation which is managed
and has been for the last % years by the sol
id democratic party, r corporal on which has
always had its hand raised against the repub-
licsn party.
The teeth of the whole bill were in the six
words. Just and reasonable and without
discrimination, and if he could have that
provision the rest might be amended as much