Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-03-14
Gan handle TRUSTS
Colonel Hepburn Believes the
Present Laws Are Ample
if Enforced
WORK OF THE LAST SESSION
Eighth Iowa District Congressman
Thinks the Fifty Seventh Congress
Accomplished Great Deal of Good
Discusses the Rebate Bll-Thinks
the Shipper Should Be Penalized.

Hepburn, who starts in q few days for
speaking of the work of the Fifty
seventh congress- expressed satisfaction
with the legislation placed upon the
statute books, and particularly with the
character and extent of the work ac-
complished by the committee of which
he is chairman, interstate and foreign
commerce.
During the session of the Fifty
lseventh congress the committee re-
ported the following bills that We're
passed by the house: Tie bill creating
1.-THE department of commerce; bill pro-
|viding for the construction of an inter-
ioceanic canal via the Nicaragua route;
a bill relating to the revenue cutter
|service; the pure food bill; the railroad
safety appliance bill; lie proposition
authorizing the expenditure of 100000
in enforcing trust legislation. Their
We're other minor bills. hut these meas
ures were all of great Importance.
All of these bills became laws except
the pure food bill. which failed to get
up in the senate by reason of the state
hood blockade, which rendered impossi :
bic the consideration of much needed
legislation.
Colonel Hepburn is firmly of the
opinion that with the Implements now
in hand it will be possible to handle the
trust question in systematic and Wig
orous manner. He does not believe the
anti-rebate proposition quite as effect
i've as it might have bsen made, but,
nevertheless, is of the opinion that its
enforcement will greatly reduce the
number and extent of violations of the
law. Colonel Hepburn takes the view
that could it have been made possible
to include the shipper in the category
Of offenders, that the root of the evil
would be reached. He says shipper
goes to a railroad freight manager and
asks quotation upon large and pos
sibly regular shipment of merchandise:
flour, oil. meat, coal. etc. The shipper
secures a rate and goes to another
fright manager and by misrepresenta-
ton secures q still lower rate: that is,
an agreement as to certain rebate. AS
result the railroads can never be GER
tain what any other line is getting for
hauling stuff, and shippers can never
know precisely whether they are get
ting bedrock rates or not; they are
always narrowed by the fear that some
other and possibly bigger shipper is
getting shade better rate.
Colonel Hepburn says that suppose
the law imposed a heavy penalty upon
Il shipper receiving rebate or cut rate.
The shipper goes to the freight manager
and dickers with him as to rates He
demands a rebate and the railroad
grants it. Subsequently the shipper
goes to another railroad with his ship
ment, whereupon the manager of line
No. / calls attention to the first trans
action and says, You must ship all
your stuff over our system, at regular
rates. or we will send you to the peni-
The evidence Of the guilt OF
the shipper in taking the rebate would
be conclusive: the rebate check would
constitute indisputable evidence. The
shipper would thereafter be at the mer-
cy Of the freight manager.
A few such cases would result in the
of the rebate Shippers
would not dare to take the hazard and
freight rates would reach the horizon
tai dead level of uniformity without
regard to size or other conditions. and
the small trader wouli stand on all
tours, so far as transpor.ations is con-
oerned, with the corporation of billion
dollar capital.
Colonel Hepburn, while believing
that this method would most quickly
settle the rebate problem, is free to
confess that objections would be urged
to such proposition that would rem
der it impossible to pass a law emboay-
ing such provisions.