The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1905-01-26

Charles Acknowledgements Giving
1t Increased Powers--Declares the
Public Must Trust Some One.
| IF the interstate commerce commits
sion were worth buying the railroads
would try to buy it. They have bought
pretty nearly everything in this coun-
try that is worth buying, and the only
reason they have not tried to purchase
the commission is chat this body is
valueless in it's ability to correct rail-
road abuses"
This statement was made by Inter
state Commerce Commissioner Charles
A Prouty in discussion of legalized
pooling. Asked, in view of this state
ment, whether it would be wise to give
commission control over rates, the
commissioner replied as follows, says
special dispatch from Chicago to the
New York Herald:
1.-THE public must trust some one,
and that would be the best remedy 1t
is possible to obtain under existing
conditions. | am aware, however, that
the great danger would lie In the pos
sibility IF the body to which should
be intrusted the guardianship Of the
peoples rights not performing it's du-
ty."
Because of a possibility of purchase
by the railroad interests?" he was
asked.
Eyes, but not in the sense Of an ac'
tual cash transaction. The railroads,
it is we'll known, own many Of our
courts and other public bodies, but not
because they have Of necessity bought
them by the expenditure Of money.
They have different way of doing
things. They see to it that the right
men, the men of friendly inclinations,
are elected. There would exist the
danger of their doing this in the case
of a rate control commission, so that it
might be composed of men who would
sit idly by and do nothing of value
Asked his opinion of Secretary Paul
Morton's pooling plan, Commissioner
Prouty said:
"Rate control by q commission would
come far from removing all the evils
that attend the pooling of railway earn
ings. The people are concerned in only
two things in connection with the rail-
roadside facility of service and the
rate In my opinion there is no longer
any competition as to rates worth men
tioning. The only thing the people havs
left is competition as to the facility.
So, 10 4Ioo CHI Of 70
day that there are some independent
roads that are still struggling for bust
ness. With legaliZed pooling every in
centiye to competition as to the facility
Of service would be removed, as it
would make little or no difference to
railroad whether it carried the business
or not.
"This fact was demonstrated in thu
history Of the fruit traffic Of California
years ago when the Santa Fe and the
Southern Pacific were competing for
the business. Solicitors were in every
territory, cars were furnished prompt
ly, and fruit was transported to Chica-
go in seven days Then came a prac-
teal division of the business, with the
exclusive car contract between Armour
and the Southern Pacific and the exclu-
sive use of Santa Fe refrigerators on
that line, and what was the result? 1t
now takes the fruit anywhere from
eight to twelve days to arrive in Chi
cago, and it frequently gets here in bad
shape. The solicitors have been with
drawn, and there is no competition as
to the facility.
1.-THE effect Of pooling would be ever
more far reaching and would be likely
to extend to the markets or traffic cen
tiers. Roads extend from Chicago to
the Missouri river, for example, and
from ST. Louis to the river At pres
ent they compete as to the facility, al
least for the through traffic, thereby
insuring competition between the two
gateways. Under a division of traffic
there would be no competition as be,
tween the roads serving these two cen
tiers. This being the fact, how would
it be possible for either gateway to get
correction of evil which discriminat
ed against it's commercial prosperity?
Five years ago there was a great
inducement to permit pooling because
1t might remove the temptation to pay
rebates. l believe the payment of re
bates as such has ceased. We still
have the private era, the industrial
railroad and the elevator charge. II,
therefore, Senator Elkins would amend
his measure to include these three, and
also to prohibit the payment OF com
missions for the procurement of freight
and passenger traffic, l believe prefer
ences would cease.
''The thing the public has most to
fear in the future is discrimination
in the published rate, not departure
from It. do not believe the Standard
Oil receives rebates, but it makes the
tariffs ande writes into them all sorts
Of determinations in it's favor. So
also with the sugar trust and the Colo
RADIO Fuel and Iron company. The lat
ter in the hearing just closed was found
to enjoy a rate ual to that given a
competitor and for a haul Of $50 miles
longer and over two mountAin grades