The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-02-12

movers in this merchants movement
TO bring the commission and the railroads
together is himself prominent railroad
man, as well rs a wholesale merchant, Is
not the least assuring feature in this whole
anair, when the question of business dis
interestedness is considered From what
ever view this compromiso is considered, in
the long run IL looks like the commission
had surrendered the whole question.
Would IL not have been far better that
for time business and commercial In
terests should suffer even the eStortionair
rates the roads now impose, when at least
more than six months must yet elapse be-
fore the great freight movement of agri-
cultural products begins?
Everybody knows that in the movement
of the great agricultural products of the
State there is ten times more injury in
volved under unjust freight rates than is
possible in all the Commercial and BUSH
ness interests" combined. Then. why this
unseemiy haste? Would the same spirit
have been manifested had these extortion-
ate rates applied alone to the products OF
the farmer? II is doubtful Is there not
something peculiarly significant In the fact
that the victors of a suit In court should
Immediately turn supplicants TO their de-
featcd opponents for favors? And, peculiar
ly significant as this is, is 1t not more Pc,
culiarly significant that such defeated OPP
ponents should lend a willing ear to their
prayer and finally recede from their orig
inal contention and entertain terms of COM
promise, when to entertain such compro-
mise was to postpone indefinitely de-
cision on the vital question upon which
alone devolves the commissions useful
ness? The writer believes these questions
In the end are paramount TO the temporary
disarrangement of purely business reia-
tons, trying as they are. and that a
weightier force, scented first by the rail-
roads and afterward used b. them as n
lever to influence respect for their de-
mands. is ut work as has become evident
by the open advocacy Of some and tho
threatened advocacy OF many other county
newspapers Of government or State owner
ship of sufficient railroads to compel just
rates which they proclaim is unobtanbie
under commission regulation under exist
ing conditions. The interstate commerce
commissions last report Is cited BY them
as an authority acknowledging that gov
eminent ownership Is the only salvation
of the question. am fully aware that the
motives shown here for this remarkable
procedure may appear to some far fetched
and imaginary.I am not concerned for such
as these, only that longer time will be
necessary to convince them, although they
may now tacitly ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS the
commission itself has proclaimed it-thnt
the railroads are IN politics in this State
as they are elsewhere, every year TO the
amount OF thousands Of dollars.
No one denies that State or government
ownership Of the railroads Is political
question. That n political party against
this policy should be moved to act pre-
cipitately in an emergency to allay a SEN
timent tending rapidly to this "fallacy,"
by removing temporarily the cause, fol-
lows naturally as night follows the day,
and in perfect consistency with the decla-
ration that the railroads are In politics. :"
The writer hopes that there may yet be
break or disagreement OF the schedules
that may burst UP the steps already taken
in these compromise proceedings in which
The commission surrenders 80 much, and
leaves no foundation hereafter upon which
10 stand. for infinitely more important than
any temporary relief Is a clear declaration
OF what constitutes the value Of a railroad
from some authoritative source. that here
after there may be furnished basis for
just determination Of tho respective rights
of tho roads and the people.
G. f. obenchaie.