The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1901-01-02
ReorgaIizations Cost Money.
FinunciUl Chronicle. Ucc 1

Interstate commerce Commission has
thrown off all Disguise and has reveal
ed the animus which is controlling IFS
course and action. The trainers Of the
Interstate intended that the Commits
sion should act in an impartial man
ncr, deciding cases before it strictly
in accordance with their merits. The
! Board la; from the first acted rs ii it
were the champion Of the shippers,
and as if its chef function consisted
in harasaing and embarrassing the
railroads and ruling against them
when occasion offered. But while the
Commission could not conceal the bias
it felt, its uttcranccs at least have
hitherto been couchcd in judicial and
unobjcctiouablc language, thus pre-
serving scmblancc Of impartialty.
THIS week, however, it has finally
thrown prccaution to the winds. The
Southern Railway Company had asked
for a rchcaring in case involving
relative rates to Lynchburg, Dan
vile, etc, which had been decided
against it in the spring. In its petit
tion the company claimed that to obey
the decision Of the Commission would
involve a loss to it Of $i33 900 per
annum, and that as no dividend had
been pail on the companys common
stock Of Sl20, ,00G, 900 during 1899, 10
insist upon cutng off that amount of
rcv""uc per year would be tantamount
to epriving the owners Of the stock
OF their property without due process
Of law. The Commission makes an
attempt t) dispute the figures Of loss
given, and then goes on to say that
the stock was issued as part of reor-
ganization scheme under which the
company came into existence, that it
does not appear that anything was ever
paid upon such stock, and finally Zap
parcntly to slinch weak argument)
"that it does not rest in the whim of
a Reorganization Committee in Wall
Street to impose tax Upon the whole
Southern country"
The alusion here to the "wlim of
Reorganization Committee in "Wall
Street is not only irrelevant and in
exceedingly bad taste, violating every
rule of official propricty, but in the
inference which it seeks to convey is
q gross misrepresentation Of the facts
Of ne case. There was no occasion
for Juggling in the Reorganization
Committee at all, and we can conceive
Of no reason for SO doing, except n
desire on the part of some of the
members to pose before the country as
foes Of the railroad and financial in
tercsts. The Reorganization Commit
tee was not on trial, and if the Com
mission deemed the capitalization of
the Southern Railway excessive and
wanted to maintain its position with
reference to the rate question, de-
corous statement to that effect would
have answered every purpose and have
shown that the Board still had some
regard for its official position. In
stead, the Commission seeks to cast
aspersions upon body of men who in
recognizing the old Richmond G
West Point Terminal Company and
its constituent properties rendered xs
important a public service as was ever
rendered under similar circumstances
by like body anywhere in the ooun-
try. AS a matter Of fact the Reorgan-
ization committee, instead Of being
pillored, should be held up to public
approval and praise. They accom-
plished task which seemed well.nigh
hopelcss-a task which several previ-
Gus committees formed for the same
purpose had been obliged to abandon
because of its oncrous character.
The imputation that this committee,
which carried to success an undertak-
ing which everyone else had abandon
cd, sought by the reorganization "to
impose a tax upon the whole Southern
country is absolutely without any
foundation in truth, and has nothing
whatever to sustain it. When these
people took hold the properties con-
stituting the present Southern Rail
way system were physical as we'll as
financial wreck. The service was
bad, and the costly way in which it
was rendered forbade the possibility
of cheapening the charge to the pub
lie. The rcorganizcrs provided the
means for rehabilitating tho system,
and poured millions upon millions in
to it for its improvement and develop
ment Now at last the territory serv-
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