The Richmond climax. (Richmond, Ky.) 1897-1914, 1899-08-30
M'CHORD MEASURE.
How Ii Would Operate to the Benefit
of the People.

From the foundation of the com
monwealth to the present time the
statute law has fixed the charge which
every tOllgate keeper might exact
from the citizen for travel on a turn
pike road. From the foundation Of
the commonwealth to the present tine
the law has controlled the charge t1a-
every ferryman might exact for carrv-
ing the citizen over a waterway. Whv
is 1t that railway corporations should
be above the law?
THE Louisville and Nashville Rail-
road company eXacts from the peoDle
OF Hardin county more to carry frei.ht
to and from the Louisville market
than it exacts for carrying freight be-
tween Louisville and Nashville move
than four times the distance. That
company exaQs more for cary
ing coal from the Earling.0n
mines. in Hopkins county. to Madison
vile, in the same county. than f. py-
acts to carry coal from these mines
through jacksonville, in the same
train, and drawn by the same loco!lC-
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 il charges to carry ccal
from those mines through Mt. Ste--
ling to Lexington. The Louisville and
Nashville Railroad company cha-g-s
more to carry freight over the Kc-
lucky Central division from Cincinnati
to Falmouth and Cynthia0a than #
charges to carry freight to Lexington.
These are examples of a practice that
is followed by railroad corpOratia~s
all over the commonwealth whe-ever
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
management once expressed by Mr.
William H. Vanderbilt and also ac-
cording to the rule enunciated By Mr.
Coils 2. Huntington, namely. All that
the traffic will bear
I'm the last report to the congress
the United States interstate comm --ce
commissioners declare it to be essen
ial to the preventing of extortion and
discrimination by railway cOrporatiors
In interstate freight carrying that
power be conferred upon that commits
sion to fix maximum rates. And in
that report the result CT the want Of
this power by the commission is de-
clared to be:
"a gross discrimination between
individuals and gross preferences be-
tween localities, which almost alwa--
favor the strong and Cypress the weak.
Probably no one thing today does so
much to force out the small operator
and build up those trusts and mo13p-
Olies, against which law and public
opinion alike beat in vain. as discr.m-
nation in freight rates.
Many of the states have such laws
as was contemplated by the McChord
bill, among them Nebraska. The coz
test with reference to this matter il
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
Nebraska railroad commission. under
the law of that state. fixed maximum
rates for railway freight carrying. The
railway corporations contested in the
courts the validity Of the law confer
ring the power to fix rates upon the
commission, and also business Of the
rates fixed. That litigation was -ar-
fied to the supreme court of the Unit
ed States, and there the Nebraska law
was adjudged valid. but the cause was
rSmanded for the fixing Of a greater
rate than that fixed by commission
which the court adjudged to be too
low. In that contest the people of Ne
braska were represented by their at
torney, Mr.. William Jennings Bryan.
1.-The decision in the Nebraska case
was rendered after the adjOurnme1t
of the general assembly that passed
the McChord bill. That decision es-
tablishes the proposition that was ar
frmed by the advocates OF the Nc
Chord bill in the discussion concern
ing II. namely That by conferring
.tr-e kn M
to fix maximum rates no wrong can
come to railway corporations, because
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