The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-01-07
RAILROAD GAG ON
SHIPPERS APPEAL
Telltale Letter Reveals Fight the
Roads are Making on Rate
Regulation.
Shippers Induced to Withdraw
Petition for Relief from
Excessive Charges.
BY W. w. Jermane.

BY w. w. Jermane.
Washington, Jan. Tt is now set
tied that the great railroads, or the ma
jority Of them, are uniting for de-
termined fight in opposition to the
president g plan for a better control of
rates, etc. The general subject has
now been taken up by the house COM
mittee on interstate and foreign COM
merce, and by the commerce com
mittee of the senate, and it will be
threshed out, during this session Of
change in the way of definite results
will be secured. This will be in line
with the prediction made by the presi--
dent early last month, that this session
would be session Of talk and next
session session of action, so far as
railroad matters are concerned.
At first, it looked as if the railroads
would fall in line with the executive
recomme and consent to the
passage Of bill embodying the major
portion Of that recommendation, for,
thru their responsible heads, one after
another Of them announced that they
policy and would support it.
Railroads Unmasked.
It now appears, however, that this
original position was not the real posi-,
t1on Of the railroads. 1t is believed
that they hoped, by apparently &C
quiescing, to get a better hold on the
situation, and having done that, steer
congress up some blind alley, thus pre-
venting anything from being done. At
any rate, they are now openly arrayed
against the Cooper-Quarles and all other
railroad bills and have mustered their
strongest men in Washington to lobby
with members Of both houses and ap-
pear. before committees to help in the
examination Of witnesses.
An interesting story has just come
out, which shows one Of the methods the
railways are employing to prevent a
free expression Of opinion on the part
of shippers who favor the Cooper
Quarles bill. Recently well-known
trade newspaper in New York, in send
! ing out notices for renewals of sub
scription ITO It's readers, Enclosed a
, blank petition in favor of the Cooper
Quarles bill. and asked that the petition
. ritory, SO that it. might later be sent to
congress- The appeal was responded to
with will, and the petition assumed
1 large form. -. ., F..
! -.fhe trade paper in subsequent issue
photographed the first page Of this pc
| tition; with the original signatures OF
TWENTY-FIVE large firms in and neal
New York, which were on that page
j, Shippers Signatures Withdrawn. =.
In short time each Of these twenty
two firms wrote to the editor Of tn
trade paper, saying that it had signed
the petition under misapprehens o:
; 1.-THE real facts, and desired to Withdraw
it's name. No further explanation wa
> offered.
: In the last Of the twenty-five letter
= that came in, however, there was in
closed, by. inadvertence, letter t.
this firm from prominent railroad
president, and this letter gave the snal
away, and explained very satisfactory,
: why the twenty-five firms had with
drawn their names The railroad presi
dent called the attention Of the firm t.
which he wrote to the first page Of tn
o trade paper containing the photograph
: reproduction Of part Of the petition
Y to congress and in diplomatic Language
2 asked that the firm addressed Withdraw
J. it's name from that petition. The let
Z ter stated that there was inclosed
8 form Of reply: which the firm Nigh
n follow in writing to the editor Of tn
trade paper. T..
) Telltale Letter In Evidence.
d This editor at once photographed thi
railroad letter and sent the original t
t E. P. Bacon, who is in Washingto
l. looking after the interests of the shiI
the Cooper-Quarles bill. -, The fri
which had unintentionally sent the raj
road letter to the editor meanwhil
discovered its mistake and strove t
q correct it by asking to get the lette
back, but the editor was obdurate Th
firm then asked that the letter be nc
J. used in any way, but the editor turne
2 it down on this point, also. a
4 Later, this editor. accompanied b
D. representative of Mr.. Bacon, called o
s. these twenty-five FIRMS and talked owe
l. the matter Of their withdrawal fro
le the petition to congress. They foun
f in every instance that the firms WEI
still strongly in favor Of the propose
legislation, but did not feel justified
taking any public position owing
the attitude Of the railroads. :
n. Facts Before Congress.
Mr.. Bacon has laid all these fac
al before the committees Of congress al
v. they will probably have a good deal
4 weight in finally determining what co
~ gress will do. .Et< - H. &.
10 1t is very significant that only II
- twenty-five firms whose names were pu
~ lished in the trade paper have wit
drawn from the petition. That petite
o. contains the names Of almost tho
60 sand shippers, all of them in and ne
"a New York, and it is likely that t.
al railroads would have got after all
c. them, just as they got after the twent
n two, if they had been given an oppe
oe tunity.