The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-03-21
The New Railroad Law Goes Into
Effect.
Many Complaints Anticipated by
the Board.
MIR. TAYLOR ON DUTY.
Attorney for Board Takes His
Position at Once.
Secretary Anderson Says It's
Discrimination That Hurts.

The new railroad law went into effect
today and from now on it is expected
that the board of railroad commission
ers will be flooded with complaints The
law became effective by its publication
in the official state paper.
Carr Taylor, who has been designated
as railroad board attorney under the
new law, has announced that he will go
to work at once regardless of the fact
that he will have to work without pay
until July 1, because the legislature for
got to make any appropriation for him
for the balance of the present fiscal
year.
Cyrus Anderson, secretary of the
board of railroad commissioners, says
that a considerable number of people,
shippers of various kinds of freight,
have been waiting for the new law to go
into effect before filing complaints, as
they want them considered under the
new law. Consequently business has
been slack in the way of complaints re-
Gently, but from now on it is expected
that they will be plentiful
Now it is only necessary for a shipper
to write to the board and state his
grievance. 1t then becomes the duty
of the attorney for the board to take
up the grievance and prosecute it, There
will doubtless be a number of COM
plants which will have a bearing on
that these will be classified and cOnSid-
cred together. The board attorney can
also file complaints on his own motion,
so that there can be general readjust-
ment, if the present rates on any COM
modify are found to be unjust.
In my mind, freight rates are not
so much out of the way, taken as
whole" said Cyrus Anderson, secre-
matter; but it is a question of dis
elimination. 1t is the discrimination
that hurts 1t wouldn't hurt me so
much to pay $75 a car to ship my
shipper who competes with me did
not get a rate of $50 a car and so
enable him to bring down the price
The thing to do is to even up these
rates. It is these shippers and COM.
mercial interests who get rebates and
secret rates that make the trouble.
Once in n while you hear of a num-
Der of big shippers or jobbers getting
together and making big kick about
their freight rates. Then everything
will suddenly quiet down and you
won't hear anything more from them.
1t means that they have got some in
side rates from the railroad COM
panies- And when jobbers. do get a
good rate it doesn't benefit the con-
sumers any. 1 know of a Kansas
town that has wholesale houses and
jobbers' rates, and you can go into
the little towns beyond it and buy
goods just as cheap as in the big
town with jobbers' rates. The con-
sumner does not reap the benefit of
the cheap rates because they are not
general
It is said that some Of the railroad
companies in the oil belt will file a
complaint with the railroad board
asking for an increase in the maxi
mum rate on oil, recently fixed by the
legislature. They argue that the rate
is ridiculously low, especially as the
rate by the barrel and by the car load
is the same. 1t is the barrel rate that
the railroads especially object to.