The times., 1899-10-10
4 POOLING LAW FAVORED
The New York Centrars President
on the Witness Stand.
The Industrial Commission Hears
That the Interstate Commerce Law
Remedy for Discriminating Rates
Proposed by Another Witness.

| The president of the New York Central
and Hudson River Railroad, Samuel r.
Galloway, and Frank Barry, of Milwaukee,
Wis, were the witnesses before the In
| dustrial Commission yesterday. Mr.. Cai-
laway occupied the attention of the Com
mission during the morning session His
! testimony was that of an expert from the
railroad point of view, he having been
connected with the business for the past
forty years. carefully prepared state
ment was submitted by him, contemp- att ng
the questions on the syllabus OF the Com
mission.
| The Interstate Commerce law had, in
| the opinion of the witness, compelled the
railroads to combine, which was just the
opposite effect from what its trainers in
| tended. He denied that there was any
discrimination of rates, for the reason,
as he put it, that there was nothing to
discriminate on, and the rates were al
ready SO low. He was an advocate OF
pooling law for railroads. and he said he
did not believe it would be possible for
rates to be raised under such system.
| Ticket brokerage was an evil which was
recognized as such in nearly all countries,
said the witness. The only passes which
were issued from the offices of the witness
were to railroad employees, but he said
| he knew nothing of what Mr.. Depew did in
| this respect.
! The organization of labor was favored by
the witness, with the provision that their
efforts be limited to lettering their own
| condition, and not to the management OF
| the affairs of their employers. He was OF
| the opinion that labor organizations had
| ceased to be as domineering as they were
| a few years ago.
| Mr. Barrys testimony related to the
manufacture, sale, and transportation OF
| flour. He began by referring to the adult
Grafton of that article of food by un-
scrupulous merchants, with glucose and IN
some instances white earth. in order to
reduce its price. This practice had been
materially lessened, and was in fair way
to be stopped entirely since the passage
of the pure flour law at the last session Of
/! Congress.
! Mr.. Barry stated that the association of
which he was the secretary, had members
in twenty-four States and the output of
the mills under its control was 100000
barrels of flour a day He also stated that
| by running these mills to their full ca
-four in ninety days all the wheat pro-
duced in this country in a year.
The witness said that there was steady
demand abroad for American flour, al
though the foreign purchaser generally
preferred TO buy American wheat and have
it converted into -four after il had reached
its destination. Railroad discrimination in
favor of wheat and against -four was one
cause of grievance which the millers of the
ploin nf ha h
lished rates, he said, put these two articles
on parity. but during the past two years
there had been a growing discrimination
in favor of wheat. This had caused de-
crease in the amount of -four exported,
and had been disastrous TO the small mill
ers of this country by putting them in
competition with the big millers, who were
seeking new fields for their output. He
read letter from an English miller which
stated that the discrimination in favor of
wheat in transportation rates was equiva-
lent 10 duty of 6 cents on every bushel
of flour which reached Great Britain from
this country. In support OF his declaration
that the export trade in flour was being
injured, Mr. Barry gave figures showing
that in September of the present year the
expectation of -four was less than in the
same month in 1898, by 122, 625 barrels.
As remedy, the witness wanted the In
terstate Commerce law amended so as to
give the findings of the Interstate Com
meree Commission a mandatory effect to
stand until reversed by a United States
court He believed this law should either
be made effective or wiped out. Pooling
by railroads was opposed by the witness.
He believed the railroads were strong
enough already, without putting more
power into their hands, as he believed
pooling law would do. The wheat elevator
system of the country, as conducted, was
declared by the witness as not conducive
to the good of the farmer.
The Commission will hear no witness to-
day.