The independent. [volume] (Lincoln, Neb.) 1902-1907, 1905-04-20

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one competitor and death to another
competitor, and the advantage is not
Of necessity from the payment of the
rebate. There may be, and there are,
determinations in the published sched-
ule just as deadly as those which arise
out of departure from the published
schedule. The Standard Oil company
grew and fiourished on rebates In it's
infancy. The boast of the Standard
Oil company today is that it takes no
rebates. 1t does what is better than
take rebates; it makes the schedule.
"Mr. Rockefeller today has potent
influence in the railroad operations of
this country. Mr.. Morgan has a most
potential influence in the railroad fope-
ratiOns of this country. And while the
Standard Oil company may not and
does not take rebates, it enjoys advan-
tages in the public schedules which
mean hundreds of thousands of dollars
II presume millions of dollars an
nually to that company.
Nov here, gentlemen, you have
the problem. You have first the great
est monopoly there is; you have the
second the discrimination which builds
up other monopolies Now, what is
the remedy for that? The most nat
ural thing in the world is to say if
these combinations have produced that
sort of monopoly let us stop the COM
binations, let us break up the combina-
tions. My friends, that is thing you
can't do. That remedy you can't have.
You might like it, you have striven
for it in vain. You can't have it. You
must find some other remedy, or there
can be no remedy
when the interstate commerce COM
mission was investigating the North
ern Securities merger asked Mr.. Har-
riman what remedy shipper had If
the railroad imposed upon him an un-
just rate, and his answer was: Let
him bring suit and recover his dam
ages You know that kind of remedy
is no remedy at ALL
"Take the rate in which this whole
western country Is most interested
the grain rate That has been ad-
vanced in the last six years probably
6 cents hundred pounds to the farm
er of Iowa. 1t means in the aggregate
millions of dollars. How could you ap-
ply that remedy? Whose injury? Is
it the farmer who raises that wheat
or is it the mechanic who eats it?
Who is to bring the suit? Clearly, the
man who brings the suit must be the
one who pays the freight, and the man
who pays the freight has not been in
jured. He is the middleman, who buys
and sells on the rate, whatever it may
be, and it doesn't make the slightest
difference to him what that rate may
be if it is nondiscriminating.
mo, my friends, there is one rem
edy--a just remedy, remedy ap-
proved by the court-and that is this
II the rate is wrong, make that rate
right.
"And the question now arises, How
can you apply that remedy?
well, the courts have passed upon
that, and what the court says is this
and it is matter of great Importance
that you should understand it and
keep it in mind in passing in your
own minds on the legislation that is
now before the country:
The function of prescribing a rate
for the future is legislative and not
judicial function. 1t must be exer-
cised either by direct enactment of the
legislature, or by some commission cre-
ated by the legislature for that pur-
pose You will all see that it would be
impracticable for congress to inquire
into the remedy. The only practical
means is by the creation of commits
sion which shall inquire into the rea-
sonableness of the rate, and which, if
it finds the rate unreasonable, shall
put in it's place rate that is reason
able
Give Commission More Power
"Now, that is exactly the remedy
the president proposes. He takes the
commission which exists, he says that
commission shall be given power in
case of complaint to determine wheth-
er the rate in effect is reasonable. If
not to determine what rate would be
reasonable and to order the carrier to
observe that rate for the future, with
the proper right of appeal.
"Now, what is the objection to that
remedy? The first is that you there
by take out of the hands of the rail-
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