The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-05-13
WHY ARE THEY FOR
HIGHER RATES?
Are the Hearts of Certain Big Shippers Touched
Via of Directorships and Free Passes
in the Southern?

ment appeared in print, in another
column of the same press dispatches
appeared a declaration from Cabi-
net Minister made before the great
railroad moguls themselves. that they
had better revise their freight tariffs
and submit to a tribunal with powers
to regulate same to save them from
the wrath of an infuriated and out
ragged public
1t is generally conceded that Mr..
Cone is q perfectly honest and con-
! scientious business man, one Of the
straightforward, accurate, modern
| commercial captains of industry we
read SO much about in the papers, of
! the class who believed in Mckinley,
detested Bryan and refused to sup
| port Parker. And of this class is Mr..
j. Elwood Cox. except that Mr.. Cox
| is an ardent and OutSpoken Rapubli-
| can. In addition to being captain
/ of industry, it is reported here that
| Mr.. Cone is president of the much
advertised new Chamber Of Com
| merce of his city which was heralded
to the world as having been organized
| principally for the purpose of obtain
! ing by organized effort some relief for
| business men Of tLlat city from freight
| discrimination or eXtortionS. 1t is also
! reported here, that in the selection
of a salaried secretary of that Cham
!
largely instrumental in securing the
services Of man who had never had
employment except III the freight de-
partment of the Southern Railway
on the ground that he, above every
other man. knew how to assist in an
Intelligent investigation into freight
arrangements or claSSficatiOnS where
by some shippers were favored at the
expense of others or some towns
Of
! This man, it is said, was selected by
! the enterprising city and guaranteed
! a salary of fifteen hundred dollars a
year over number of applicants for
the position, who were turned down
because they might know other things
better, but they did not know enough
about freight rates to fill the bill
There must be some mistake in these
reports, or the Greensboro people
would have had something to say be-
fore now.
About ten years ago. there was a
big meeting in Greensboro of all the
| Chambers of Commerce in the State,
gotten together by a strong call from
Mr.. Caesar Cone, to rectify freight
rates. He was made president of the
organization, and Mr.. Stannard
from Durham, a railroad empIOye. it
was said, was made secretary. VIII
you please refer to the files of your
! paper for that year, containing q re-
! port of that big meeting, which, in
some way, never brought forth re-
dress or fruit, and print the names
of those taking prominent part, and
then look up the list of directors of
the various railroads of the State.
especially of the Southern and its
| branch lines, and print the names,
and see how many of them are or
have been railroad directors since
that date. 1t would be mighty in
teresting to know who. in tthat move
ment ten years ago have been made
directors since, especially of the
Greensboro men who figured so very
prominently Another investigation
into the prominent members of the
movement inaugurated by the late
John ". Hanes, @of Winston, two or
three years ago to reform freight
rates might be interesting.
Ten years ago Mr.. Cone issued a
stirring address on the outrageous eX-
tOrtionS and determinations of rail
roads. Why don't YOU. publish this,
and give him an opportunity to eX-
plain why. since he has become a re-
puted millionaire and member OF
his firm railroad director, those
same freight rates which, are more
excessive to the public generally than
ever before, are all right now, and
any change would be disastrous to
ehc business interest OF the South?
Isn't Mr.. j. ElwOod Cox railroad
director tOOi?. .Isn't Il brother OF the
late John w. iianes. WHO organized
the movement against determinations
only Short time before his DEATH a
director i'll the railroad too? III is !
commCsl gossip tilai every successful
cotton nanufactureP lumber dealer, |
furniture manufactures, wholesale
II.
dealer and tobacco manufacturer at
least in Piedmont Carolina. arc direc-
tors in tie Southern Railway.
Will you please inform us whether |
these .directorShipS are for the pur-
pose alone of eyading the law for Civ |
ing free passes, or to give the addi- /
tionaI advantage of rebates, or favor
able concessions in freight rates un-
der the subterfuge OF ''classilicatiOns.'
One thing is certain. you cannot get a |
Very rich shipper or receiver of freights |
to say one word except in praise of |
''tlle magnificent facilities afforded by |
modern transportation methods And
il is only the very rich who stick to
thit through thick and thin. They tell
me the law requires the names OF
every railroad director to be sent in J
to the Corporation Commission. III
that is so, You would perform Il pub
lie service to get a list of them for
the past ten years and see if the ru-
mGrS above spoken of have any foun-
dation, and III there is any significance
i'm tho success of these men at the ex- |
pens,s of others, or i'll their getting
hold of every organization formed for
the purpose of seeking relief from ex-
tortion on individuals, discrimination |
against businesses or communities. If
YOU can get the list of these names. it
certainly can be no imprOpricty to !