Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1897-04-01

rates can only be changed upon COM
plaint When this law is enacted COM
plants from all over the state, not one
but hundreds, win come up and your
commissioners will be swamped with
them A rate will be agreed upon. A
complaint will come from Pratt to
Kansas City; and another from Kansas
City 10 Pratt, and the matter will go
into court, each case from all ove,' the
state will have to come up for seper
ate hearing, and what will be the re-
suit? Your commissioners will be in
volved in endless litigation and the
railroad corporation will go on with
with these extortions just the same as
usual
/ want to say, Mr.. Chairman, that it
is very humiliating for me to have to
stand before this house with populist
majority and plead for bill that has
been one of the cardinal principles of
our party for years.
Where did the Harris bill come from?
Compare it with the house bill asa in
troduced here by the gentleman from
Labette, and you will End them almost
the same. House bill 4s4 was intro
duced with the approval of every rail
road attorney in Topeka. Who had
charge of it in the senate? Who forced
it into the house? You will find that
every republican voted against every
amendment that would give any
force or strength to it, and yet today 1
must stand before the pOpulist body
composed of men who are supposed to
be reformers aud plead for a measure
that is supported by the sentiment of
our party, do not stand here to
plead for my party but for maNium
rate bill and against the Harris bill
which has the approva of the railroad
attorneys of the state-and yet you
claim to be populists.
Representative Jones of Neosha
county here asked how many Senators
voted for the bill in the Senate on its
final passageP Mr. Brown in reply
said: every true populist voted for it
under protest. The people of this state
are demanding relief, our people ex-
pect relief and want to say to you
that this Harris bill as it is amended,
is a makeshift and az evasion, and l
want TO say that no good can come of
the bill.
You know that the law to-day in
Iowa is good law. We know that the
railroads are satisfied and the people
are satisfied and the Legislature of that
state is seriously considering the ques-
ton of giving the commissioners con-
troll of other corporations in that state
and the ware houses and elevators as
we'll.
Now then gentlem en- it has been said
here as an argument that if the maxi
mum freight bill that was introduced
here by myself or rather by my com
nlittee, becomes law that the wages
of the railway employees will be GU
down, want to ask, can the railroad
corporations reduce the wages of theil
employees in this state and not reduce
those in Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa
Texas or any other point to which theil
roads may reach.
We all know that the courts of this
state will not allow the commissioners
to make a rate that will not enable the
corporations to pay their employees
taxes and interest have too much
confidence in the courts of this country
and state to think that they would al
low this or any other legislature to dc
this thing to the railroad corporations.
So this cry that is going up is not well
founded nor can it be. If the wages Of
the employees of the roads are cut, il
will be because the companies know
that they can do it, and it will be not
because of this law, that they will re-
duce the rates and frieghts. Then this
argument is made, that the rates have
been reduced in the last number of
years and the contention has been
that the railroads of this great country
are all going into bankruptcy; but in
1889 the net earnings were 300 millions
of dollars, in 1891, $40 millions, and l
want to call attention to the fact that
this statement refers only to the
freight and passenger earnings, and
aside from this, was the transporta-
ton of baggage and mail. The total
net earnings in the United States
amounted to over one-half billion of
money and yet they say that we ought
to stand between them aud the people.
know that the rates are not as high
as they used to be but do they have
such engines and cars on the roads as
they had when we were boys? Do not
the engines and improved machinery
to-day carry as much again as they
could at the same or less expense
few years ago? While it is true that
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