Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-03-05
AGAINST REPEAL.
The House Committee and the Interstate
Commerce Law.

Inc hOuSe committee ana Une Interstate
Commerce Law.
From the News Letter, March 1st.
The House Committee on Commerce has
reported against the repeal of the interstate
commerce law, and recommended that the
various bills looking TO that end lie upon
the table. 1t may fairly be presumed that
this substantially ends all hope of that OBJ
noxious measure being seriously interfereo
with during the continuance of the present
Congress. This result does not surprise U
in the least. The NelUs Letter has mort
than once suggested that the law should be
made the best of, as it has come to stay.
We predicated that statement upon the
knowledge of how hard it is to undo work
that is sustained by taking but demagogic
cry. Putting the great transportation COM
panies under the heel of authority is pleas
ing to the grangers, and is believed to be
popular; hence the passage of the law in
question and the fear to repeal it. 1t was
the result in the first place of demagogism,
and the failure to repeal or modify it
springs from cowardice. AS is not unusual
IN such cases, it proves in operation to be an
injury to the very people it was professedly
designed to benefit. In recent address be-
fore the Illinois Farmers Association the
law was openly denounced as in conflict
with natural laws. 1t was shown by one
speaker that the law discriminates in favsr
of heavy shippers and against the farmers,
while it was intended, when passed by
Congress- to operate in directly the oppo-
site way. 1t was shown that the rate on
corn from Chicago TO New York is 25 cents
per hundred pounds, while it would be a
profitable haul at 12a cents.
The railroads dare not reduce the through
charge, because they would be compelled
to make u proportiouate reduction on all
local business because of the ridiculous
long and short haul clause. That is the
weakest point of lamentably weak Act,
which has incontestably deprived COM
peting points of the advantages that nat
urally belong to them. In that particular
| it is especially Objectionable to San Fran
cisco. 1t has very largely deprived us of
| the benefits that would have flowed from
competing lines. The through traffic from
and to this city would have been keenly
competed for and rates would assdredly
have continued at low figures, but the me-
cessity under the law of making local rates
| equally low puts a summary end to all
| hope of our fruits, canned goods, etc., being
| hauled East as cheaply as they 9TH
erwise might be. The law has checked
| railroad development, benefited Canadian
competing lines, Disseminated in favor of
large shippers, deprived competing locali-
| ties of the advantages conferred upon them
| by nature, and caused great disturbance to
| business arrangements without substituting
| any compensating advantages whatever. 1t
| was passed to placate the grangers, yet it
has very greatly added to the woes of the
farmers. When they have suffered while
longer they will probably awake to their
| folly, and ask Congress to let the transpor-
tation problem alone to work out its own
salvation, as it would undoubtedly do if
left to the operation of natural laws.
The Senate Committee on Interstate
Commerce will arrange for the investiga-
| tien called for By Mr.. Paddock s resolution,
which was recently agreed to by the Senate.
This resolution instructs the committee to
! inquire into the working of the long and
short haul clause of the Interstate Com
merce Act, and report whether or not it is
responsible in any degree for the present
| depressed condition of the agricultural in
| terests of the West. Senator Paddock,
| speaking Of the matter to. day, said that he
had been represented as being in favor of
the law in question. He said this was not
the case. He wants to find out whether or
not the clause is working to the disad
vantage of the farmer. In case the in
quiry to be made developed the fact that it
is injurious to the farmer, and its repeal
cannot be secured, he will then introduce
bill constituting the section of the Act con-
tanning the long and short haul clause to
authorize the Interstate Commerce Com
missioners to so regulate the tariffs of the
road as to secure to the producer of food
stuffs reasonable price for his products.