The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1904-09-29

oecOuu-Il uOU, no you Ucll0Fe IL Ill
the power of congress to so amend the
interstate commerce law as to enable it
to correct prevailing abuses?
The Cooper bill now before your COM
mittee, as you know, (a) gives congress
power to correct a rate which, after a
hearing of all parties, it finds to be I'M
lawful, unjust, and discriminative, and
makes it's orders promptly operative.
(b) Authorizes it to determine division
of a joint rate when the carriers fail to
do so. (c) Subjects the orders of the
commission to a review of the courts,
which orders may be stayed or suspend
ed pending review. (d) Provides that
enforced by injunction and offenders
fined.
Third-Do you have any objections to
amend it to correct present abuses?
We ask these questions at this partic-
ular time because of the similarity of
present conditions in your district and
in the state to those prevailing in 1886.
constituents were paying $3.50 per car
of cattle from Creston to Chicago, and a
similar rate at all stations in the west
ern portion of your district; while on
the same train cattle were carried from
Kansas City and Omaha at $45. Flour
was then shipped from Kansas City to
Des Moines for 10 cents per hundred
pounds in car load lots, while towns in
your district had to pay Is to 20 cents
for half the distance. Your constit-
uents pay 49, cents per hundredweight
on the cattle and hogs they ship to Chi
no while ON, tho fpo aa flo n no
carried from the west to the same point
at 16 cents.
The long established rate on packing
house products between Chicago and
New York is 100 per cent of the rate on
live cattle, and $50 per cent of hogs and
sheep. Yet the beef trust gets it's pro-
duets carried through your district from
Missouri river points to Chicago at 49,
cents per hundred pounds, while your
constituents pay 23aa cents on both cat
tie and hogs. If the live stock rate is
Just, then the beef trust should pay 35ll
cents on the product. If the dressed
beef rate is Just, your constituents
should pay IA cents on cattle and Is
cents on hogs. Is it any wonder, there
fore, that they are inquiring by what
methods they can be put on an equality
with the combination of packing houses,
| which by means of rebates heretofore
granted by the railroads have become
an odious and oppressive monopoly?
| The people of your district are long
suffering and forgiving people. They
believed when they restored you to
power and place that chastisement,
however grievous it may have been to
you, would work out in your case in the
peaceful fruits of righteousness. Is it
any wonder that they, in connection
| with the people of the state, desire to
know where you stand on this import
ant question? Do they not have right
to know?
Never was there a more appropriate
time to give evidence of true statesman
ship than just now. Politicians are
common, statesmen are rare. In this
presidential year the common people
are taking no special interest in the
election. Why should they? Both part
les are in substantial accord on the
maintenance of the gold standard. The
"tariff rippers" are silent as the grave.
Scratch democrat and he bleeds pro-
lection to home industries. Imperial
ism is ghost. The fat fried out of
great corporations runs into two barrels
this time. The struggle is simply be-
| tween the ms and outs, interesting at
present only to the candidates, local
and state and national, present or pros
pective. Why not take up a subject in
which the people have vital interest
and tell the farmers of your district
why they should pay $3.50 per car more
on hogs and $40 more on cattle in order
that the beef trust may pile up yet
other millions with which to monopolize
not only the live stock markets, but the
poultry market, eventually the butter
and egg market, the grain market, and
even the grain and live stock feeding
industries?
| Here is your opportunity, the oppor-
tunitv of your life. This is no time for
famboyant defamation, for academic
discussion Of abstract theories, for
sophomore oratory or appeals to the
prejudices of the people in order to
make one-half of the people believe that
the other half is so intellectually infer
Tor and morally corrupt that they may
not safely be trusted with the govern
ment of this nation. 1t is a time fol
real craftsmanship. Can you afford by
your silence to set the seal of truth or
| the charge SO generally and universally
made that you are the foe of any effort
to amend the Interstate commerce bill
in any way that will make it effective
and limit the now absolute power Of the
railroad combination to determine what
the people shall pay for transportation:
The present situation, as you know, is
entirely satisfactory to the railroads
] What your constituents and the people
of Iowa generally want to know is, Is il
satisfactory to YOU? Will you by 81,
lence or inaction put the Eighth District
of the great agricultural state of Iowa
in the position of allowing abuses and
wrongs which President Roosevelt has
condemned, to go unchecked and Their
perpetrators, unwhipped Of justice? We
hope not; but, to be entirely frank, we
| fear.
Wallaces' Farmer is not political
paper, but will cheerfully give you an j
reasonable amount of space to answer
the questions herein proposed, and tc
tell where you stand on this subject
which means more to them, more to the
entire st-indeed, more to the entire
nation any other question raised