The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1899-08-22

mes even pfeJenueu Indl WTO0b VI any
kind contributed to the result. This Is
a complete answer to every objection
that has been made to this law
Governor Bradley In his message
to the general assembly that enacted
this law recommended the enactment
of new election law to prevent cleo
ton frauds. The bill for the new law
did not meet his views and he vetoed
IL, but even he has declared that the
new law is better than the old law, to
which the Republican platform de- :.
mands return.
mo well-informed, minded a
doubts that but for this law j
Hobson would not now be judge ON
court Of appeals. No well-informedl
fair-minded man doubts that but for
this law-without reference to how
the votes may be cast-the results of
the elections this year and next year
would have been determined now In
favor of the Republican party.
Their real objection to this law it's
opponents Go not state; that objection
is that this law insures honest cleo
tons. This law takes the vote of Ken
lucky out of the vote market which
Hanna established in Kentucky In
1896. It destroys the assumed inalien-.
able right of the Republican party to.
steal elections. IL is the barricade
which the Democracy of Kentucky
have erected to repel the invasions Of
Hannaism, and it will prove effective
to prevent a repetition Of the theft of
1896, [Applause.l s.s.
THE Democratic platform indorses
and the Republican platform condemns
and passed at the last session of The
general assembly, which was vetoed
by the governor.
IF that bill had become a law the
railroad commission would have been
empowered by 1t to fix maximum rates
for the carrying of freights on rail-
roads in this commonwealth, in o1SSkxr
to prevent discrimination and 81
ton. Several years before the ID
assembly had enacted section
the Kentucky statutes, which under
took to define the offense of extortion
by railway carriers and to impose
penalty for its commission. In April,
1896, the court of appeals adjudged
this statute insufficient to support a
prosecution, because the general as
sembly had not by law fixed a maxi
mum rate for freight carrying nor en-
powered the railroad commission to
do so. To remedy this defect the Nc
Chord bill was passed. The bill made
1t the duty of the railroad commits ION
upon complaint of extortion to give
notice of a hearing, to hear the proof
on both sides, and. if it is found an
extortionate rate was being charged.
to fix just and reasonable rate which
should be the maximum rate tn re-
after to be charged, and the charving
OF greater rate should r. deemed ex-
tortion and punished by fine
M'CHORD MEASURE.
How Ii Would Operate to the Benefit
of the People.
From the foundation of the conn
monwealth to the present time the
statute law has fixed the charge which
every tollgate keeper might exact 4
from the citizen for travel on a turnA.J
pike road FROM the foundation
the commonwealth to the present time
the law has controlled the charge that
every ferryman might exact for careyA
ing the citizen over a waterway. WHY
is 1t that railway corporations shouldN
be above the law?
"The Louisville and Nashville Rail-
road company eXacts from the people
of Hardin county more to carry freight IT,
to and from the Louisville market
than it exects for carrying freight be-
tween Louisville and Nashville, n re J.
than four times the distance. That
company exacts more for carry
ing coal from the darlington r.
mines, in Hopkins county, to Madison
vile, in the same county, than it ex-
acts to carry coal from these mines
through jacksonville. in the same
train, and drawn by the same locorno-
tive engine to Evansville. Ind. The
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway COM
pany charges more for CARRYING coal
from the Carter county mines to Mt
Sterling than 1t charges to cafry coal (
from those mines through Mt SAars-'
ling to Lexington. The Louisville and
Nashville Railroad company charges
more to carry freight over the Ken
lucky Central division from Cincinnati
to Falmouth and Cynthiana than 1t
charges to carry freight to Lexington.
These are examples of a practice that
is followed by railroad corporations
all over the commonwealth wherever
there is not competition by rail or
water. At noncompetitive points rail-
way freight charges are made in ac-
cordance with the axiom of railway
once expressed by Mr.
William II. Vanderbilt, and also ac-
cording to the rule enunciated by Mr..
Cells z; Huntington, namely, An that &
the traffic will bear
"In the last report to the congress
the United States interstate commerce
commissioners declare 1t to be essen
lal to the preventing of extortion and
by railway corporations
In interstate freight carrying that
power be conferred upon that commits
sion to fix maximum rates And in
that report the result of the want of
this power by the commission is de-
clared to be:
"A gross discrimination betweeS.
individuals and gross preferences b
tween localities, which almost alw
favor the strong and Cypress the w
Probably no one thing today does ~
much to force out the small operator.
and build up those trusts and monop-
olies, against which law and public
opinion alike beat in vain, as discrim-
ination in freight rates
Many Of the states have such laws =
as was contemplated by the McChord /
bill, among them Nebraska. The con-
test with reference ITO this matter in
Kentucky is substantially that which
Mr.. Bryan fought in Nebraska to OBJ
tain lower freight rates for the people
Of that state and to prevent favoritism
between individuals and localities. The