The Iola register., 1890-05-09
SENATOR VESTS BILLS.
Four Measures introduced Into the senat
Relating to the Great Beef Combine.

A
Committee on. Meat Product, yes
terday with an explanation. H,
said that the committee had investi
gated the subject very fully and had re
ported four measures for the considera
tion of the Senate.
The first was concurrent resolution
asking the President of the United
States to inaugurate diplomatic CORE
spondence with the authorities of Great
Britain to bring about repeal or modi
fication of the existing quarantine regu
latioRs of the United Kingdom.
The next measure was one providing
for National inspection law and re
quiring that all live cattle should be in
spected when exported, and also thai
cattle intended for expectation or the
meat of which was intended for exporta
tion, should be subject to inspection al
the places where killed.
The third measure was intended tc
prohibit themonopoly now practiced a.
TO the storage capacity of steamship
carrying cattle 10 foreign countries
The evidence has shown very conclu'
sively that in the port of New York the
practice had obtained among the steam.
ship companies belonging to foreign ma
tions There being no American lines)
OF leasing or contracting sometimes
single vessel, sometimes all the YES
sells of the line for number of months
in advance, to one person, and the re-
suit was that the shipper who was not
the favored contractor had no oppor-
tunity Of putting his cattle in the for
eign market at all. The agents of the
steamship lines had appeared before the
committee and had frankly avowed that
they did not propose to divide the stow
age capacity of any vessel between two
or more shippers, and had given as a
reason for it Ia reason not satisfactory
to the comm ittee) that when they had
| divided up their stock capacity between
two or more persons it resulted in diff
| culties and squabbles between the en-
ployes of the cattle owners to the annoy
ance and inconvenience of the officers
of the vessel.
The fourth of the bills reported was
one intended to prevent the discrimina-
ton which now existed on all the rail-
roads belonging to the Trunk Lines As
ISOLATION land that embraced all the
roads running from Chicago east) under
which no mileage was given to any of
the improved cattle cars carrying live
cattle from the West to the East. The
evidence showed that on the lines west
of Chicago belonging to the Central
Traffic Association mileage of from one
to 214 cents a mile was given to cattle
carried, whether improved or unim-
proved, that belonged to private in
dividuals. AS between railroad COM
panies a custom had obtained and was
generally observed by which company
using the cars of another corporation
paid mileage of three-quarters of
cent each way for the use of the cars.
The evidence showed that on the lines
east of Chicago the refrigerator cars in
which dressed beef dead beef was con-
veyed received mileage of three-quar-
ters of a cent each way, although they
we're hauled back empty, but improved
cars in which the live cattle were trans
ported, on the same roads, received no
mileage at all since June, 1888, by reso-
The Judgment of the committee was
that this was an unjust discrimination
against live cattle and the committee
had reported bill amending the Inter
State Commerce act so as TO prohibit
that abuse. The bills were submitted
with the report.
Mr.. Vest called the attention of the
committees on eac h side of the chamber
which had control of the order of bnsi-
ness of the Senate to the importance of
those measures to the cattle interests of
the United States, which was now in a
very depressed condition. The select
committee was powerless to bring about
an early consideration of those bills.
the matter was entirely under the con-
troll of those two committees and of the
Senate eventually, and he asked in the
name of the cattle raisers of the coun-
try th1t the bills be taken up and con-
sidered at an early day. s.
Mr.. Platt said he regarded the sugges-
tion as one of great Importance and
which ought to be considered by the
Senate at an early day. He assured the
Senator from Missouri that so far as he
was concerned and so far as he repre-
sented his friends on his side of the
chamber he would do his best in that
direction. 3 #L
Mr.. Cullom, chairman of the Commit
zee on Interstate Commerce, recognized
the Importance of the measures reported
and declared himself anxious to secure
their early consideration.