Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1900-01-19
PLEAD FOR MORE POWER.
Interstate Commerce Commission
Wants Congress to Make the
Law More EffectuaI.
WARNIHs AS TO FUTURE METHODS.
The Commission Says that Vast Schemes
of Railway Control Now In Process of
Communication Will Throttle All Com
petition of Lines That Heretofore Have
Been Observation-Disclosures Accidents.

Washington, Jan. 16.-The inter
state commerce commission has made
public its thirteenth annual report.
The feature of the report is the
strong plea made that congress up
hold the hands of the commission by
amendments making the interstate
commerce law more effective. The
report says:
The requests of the commission for
needful amendments have been supported
by petitions and memorials from agri-
cultural, manufacturing and commercial
interests throughout the country, yet,
Notwithstanding, not line of the statute
has been changed and none of the bur
densome conditions which call for relief
have been removed or modified. The exist
ing situation and the developments OF the
past year. it is added, render more i'm
perative than ever before the necessity
for speedy and suitable legislation.
Nine-tenths of the people know that
any railroad company can charge for
it's service whatever it pleases and as
much as it pleaSeS, without any real pow
er in this commission or any other tri-
bunaI or court, to limit the amount of
such charge for the future when COM
plant is made by an aggrieved shipper,
and they are substantially of one mind
in desiring that this and other defects
in the statute be promptly remedied.
1t is a matter of common knowledge
that vast schemes of railway control are
now in process of contamination, and
that the competition of rival lines is to
be restrained by these combinations
While this movement has not yet found
full expression in the actual consolidation
of railroad corporations, enough has
transpired to disclose a unification of
financial interests which will dominate
the management and harmonic the op-
erations of lines heretofore Independent
and competitive. This is to-day the most
noticeable and important feature of the
railway situation. If the plans already
foreshadowed are brought to effective re-
suits and others of similar scope are car
ried to execution, there will be a vast
Capitalization of railroad properties with
all the power involved in such far-reach-
ing combinations, yet uncontrolled by any
public authority which can be efficiently
exerted. The restraint of competition
upon excessive and unjust rates will in
this way be avoided, and whatever evils
may result will be remediless under ex-
listing laws.
The increase in railroad business the
past year has been SO great that many
carriers found their equipment made
quate for the service required. Reeve
nues increased greatly while railway
failures fell off. Coincident with these
schemes of unified control and while this
exceptional movement of traffic contin-
ueS, the carriers operating throughout
an extensive and important territory
have recently made substantial, and in
many cases very large increases in their
scale of charges. These advances in
rates have been mainly effected by con-
certed and agreed change in the cIassifi-
cations of freight articles.
These changes We're made without
hearing and against protests of shippers
and whatever may be the merits of the
complaints the report urges that the law
ought to be amended to insure a
determination whether the rates are
just and reasonable and redress if they
are found unjust.
During the year 1899 there were 1879 en-
p1oyes killed and $3.50 injured upon SO
roads against 2G9 killed and 5,4S4 injured
in 1885, a result attributed to the more
general equipment of the roads with
safety appliances.