The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-06-23
WHAT FREIGHT RATE BILL
REALLY MEANS.

chairman of the Executive Committee
of the Interstate Commerce Law
Convention, made before the United
State Commerce, on May 18th, and
now issued in pamphlet form, throws
much light on a vexed problem and
indicates that the arguments of the
railroad interests and the literary
bureau, which has been SO active for
the several months past, are based on
a misrepresentation of the Esch-
Townsend bin which passed the House
at the last session.
In brief, all that is sought to be
done by the Esch-Townsend measure
is to confer upon the Interstate
Commerce Commission power to de-
termine the change that shall be
made I'm O. rate complained of after
the same has been found to be OPP
prcssive or unreasonable and to re-
quire the road making such rate to
put the change ordered into effect
pending the decision of court in the
matter if there should be an appeal.
Whereas, the impression sought to
be made by the railroads and by their
literary bureau is that the bill gives
to the commission the power to fix
all rates regardless of the interest of
the railroads and arbitrarily.
The difference between what the
measure really seeks to accomplish
and what the railroads would have
the people believe is apparent; the
bill does not seek to take away from
the railroads and give to the Com
mission the rate making power, but
only to give to the Commission the
mower to revise rates, after they have
been found on a full and fair hearing
to be unreasonable or unjust per Sc.
Mr.. Bacon also shows clearly that
the pending measure has nothing to
do with the enforcement of the law
against the giving of rebates, since
that is already covered by the Elkins
measure of 1908. 1t is not intended
to safeguard the rights of individuals,
except as they constitute the public,
but is intended to give a means of
redress in cases where the public and
published schedules are unreasonable,
and to protect cities and committees
against unfair Determinations.
Also, it is pointed out that the. eff
fort of the railroad representatives to
have the power to make rate changes
given directly to the courts instead
of the Commission was merely a
shrewd subterfuge to avoid the act en-
tirely, since the Supreme Court has
already determined that the fixing of
rates is legislative and not judicial
function. Consequently all that a
court could do would be to declare a
that it be changed-an order that
could be complied with by the roads
without in any measure affording the
relief which the action was brought
to obtain.
There is no subject so battling and
beyond the intelligent comprehension
of the untechnical as that of rates.
1t has Technology all its own, al
most as typographical as the prescrip-
ton of a physician. What with the
intricate science of "differentials. y
competitive points, distributing points
classification. water rates, car load
lots, and other puzzle chapters the
way-faring man has a hard time of it.
He can only know that something is
TO him and he feels in
wardly the want of a square deal.
The present bill, lucidly put, seems to
be simple and a we'll conceived eff
fort at relief Whatever its fate may
be, the agitation it has created and
the educational value it has had and
is still having can do certainly no
less than to hasten the day when the
mere fact that freight passes the
imaginary line of one State into
another can no longer operate as d
license to oppression.