East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1905-07-17

An important meeting VIII soon pc
held in Portland of the joint commit
tee of the State Development league
and the Willamette Valley Develop
ment league recently appointed to con-
slider legislation looking to the reSula-
ton of railroad rates.
This committee is composed of con-
servative men from all sections Of the
state, the chairman being Thomas K.
Campbell president of the Pacific
Timber company of Cottage Grove,
and the other members. John Wort
man Of McMinnville, ]. G. Graham of
Salem. w. b. Sherman of Grants
Pass, and Stephen A. Lowell of PEN
dlcton.
It is expected that the preliminary
work Of this committee will be COM
pleted so that It will be able to sub
NIT draft of new rate law at the
next meeting of the Development
league which will be held in Eugene
early in September, and at the same
time and place will probably be sub
mitted the draft of the new railroad
tax law, for which a committee has
also been appointed consisting of
John A. Carson of Salem. G.. w. Grif-
fin of Eugene, ]. \. Auperle Of JEFF
ferson, G. a. Hurley OF Independence,
and r. f. Jones of Toledo.
The state Development league and
the Willamette Valley Development
league. composed as these organiza-
tons are OF the substantial business
men Of the state. are approaching
ating in harmony with the CONNER
cial organizations Of the city of Port
land, the object being to secure FOR the
people and for the state fair treat
ment on the part of the railroad COM
panies.
II may become necessary for these
organizations to take up not only the
question of rates and taxation. but
such legislation as may he necessary
to compel the transportation COM
panics to give the public reasonable
and proper facilities for travel. the
conditions which exist at this time on
the passenger trains being a source of
criticism on the part of every person
who Is compelled to travel Not only
are the trains unnecessarily and un-
reasonably crowded, but the cars are
not kept clean, and few trains are
running on schedule time.
Apparently it is the policy Of the
controlling forces of this company To-
Gated in New York to do the work of
four trains with two. a proceeding
which is certainly short-sightcd on
the part Of the officials for the reason
that substantially every person who
travels becomes a critic Of the COM
pany instead of its friend.
There should for the past month
have been at least one additional train,
a local train running from salt Lake
or Boise to Portland, in order to prop
erly care for the extra traffic in the
passenger department incident I" he
Lewis and Clark fair.
In response to an inquiry from this
paper this morning, Judge Lowell
stated that arrangements were being
made for the Portland meeting OF MS
committee, and i'm the meantime the
matter of railroad legislation in states
like Iowa and Wisconsin was being
studied. and that probably there would
he submitted at the Eugene meeting
draft of a law substantially along the
lines of the recent Wisconsin legisla-
ton. the first provision to be strin-
gent anti-pass regulation, in order
that members OF the legislature and
state officials might be entirely free
from, oven incidental railroad influ-
ence.
That would be followed by such
regulation Of rates as would make II
possible to develop resources OF the
state. many of which are now rctard-
ed by almost prohibitive freight rates
this being especially trust in parts OF
the Willamette valley and southern
Oregon. A provision for a railroad