Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1898-07-29

n.ople. One thousand millions OF do,larn
were paid out last year by the railways
from their earnings to employees of man
ufactories in this country; 611,o0o.000 Of
messengers were carried; 1900 millions
were carried one mile; 765, 900. 900 of tons Of
freight were moved: 1000 millions OF tons
were moved one mile. Do you think that
any interest performing such immense
service as this can be in difficulty and
the balance of the country not feel Il?
Forty millions OF dollars were paid out
for public taxes. Over three thousand
millions of dollars that have been invest
ed in railways have earned no dividend
for years This Is not water, as some
populist orator will say, but good, honest
money. These securities are held all
through the land, and their failure to
pay any return has brought disgrace up-
on us abroad and suffering and want in
many family and community at home.
some of the chief difficulties with the
law as it stands today is that the pun
ishment for private contracts and rebates
is entirely out of proportion to the offense.
The Imprisonment clause was put in a.
an amendment to the interstate COM
MERGE law, and believe the commission
and everyone who has watched its work.
ings will agree with me that 1t has been
a failure more than failure, that II
has caused perhaps more Decentralization
than anything else. The public has not
believed in 1t; 1t has been impossible to
secure conviction; it has prevented the
railway official who desired to be honest
from complaining of his competitor whom
he thought was dishonest. In fact 1t has
been what every law is that Is not sup
ported by public 5entiment-a failure.
What, in fact, is the manner OF conduct
ing business today? The railway official
who desires to be honest and laW-abiding
- t,a nd
freight that he was carrying hauled to
the warehouse of his rival, the earnings
of his line decreasing and complaints
from the management of loss of earnings,
and in the distance he sees looming up
the loss of his position. At the same
time, the shipper who desires to obey
the law sees some rival selling merchan-
disc to his customers at prices he cannot
meet, and he knows very well that he 10
securing concessions from some railway
to enable him to do this. The railway
agent and the shipper who wish to obey
the law sit down together and leok II
over. What relief is there for themf
They can complain of their rivals, posi-.
bly, convict them under the interstate
commerce law and send them to the PEN
itentiary, but such action would bring
down upon them the condemnation of the
public and would ruin their business; for.
as stated before, the public does not be-
lieve in this severe feature of the law,
and will not support anyone who enforcss
it. The result is, these men. In despair.
are driven to do Just what their opponents
are doing-they become lawbreakers
| themselves. I have drawn no fancy pic
| ture; it is what lie occurring every day
around you.
us it wise, is It broad statesmanship.
| to leave a business as large as that OF
| the railways-one in which one-hfth, at
of q
| which affects the comfort and happiness
| of nine-tenths of the peoples 1t wise to
| leave 1t outside of the law? 1t Is said
| that the most expensive occupation to
the community is that of the burglar, he
has to spend SO much time and destroy
so much to get SO little. Is it worth while
| to force the great railway interests OF
| the country into the same position?
| who opposes this legislation? First,
| certain people who desire the government
to own and operate the railways. Seq
| ond, others who wish that the interstate
railway commission should make all
rates. Third and lastly, certain railway
managers who are opposed to any and
all legislation and who object to any con-
troll, and believe that they should be left
entirely alone.
"All of us who have any interest in our
| country, who desire its prosperity, are in
| terested in the solution OF this great
question. 1t is not a time for the dema-
gogue to howl about corporations. 1t is
not time to talk about the wrongdoings
of railway managers. There are always
| some, in any business. who will not DO
right, and there always will be, but tina
great mass of railway managers to-day.
assure you, are as honestly seeking a so
luton of this question as are you or any
member of the legislative body. I be-
heve voice the belief of very large
majority of the.n that the tive provfs-
ions have mentioned are necessary and
will lead to the settlement OF this Ques-
ton. If this body will Join and heartily
indorse this course and work for IT, fts
accomplishment can be attained We
have unwittingly in this country applied
to railway laws that 1t was never IN
tended should be applied to transporta-
ton companies of this nature. We have
gene back and taken decisions that wers
wise hundred years ago. when cfvfltza-
ton was in Its infancy and when tho
masses needed certain protection, and
have endeavored to apply these sanns
principles TO the great transportation In
terests of modern times. The courts. UNI
fortunately, have followed in that line
Every business man. every statesman.
knows that 1t is a mistake, that we have
here an immense interest such as the
world has never seen, and the principles
which should govern it must be worked
out in harmony with the age and the
needs Of this country. There should be ne
friction between the interstate commercs
commission and the railways; there
should be none between the state COM
missions and the railways. There has
been too much of feeling with These
bodies that the railways were against
| Ms@A