The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1905-10-06
THE IMPORTANT QUESTION,


The News insists that its proposition
that public meeting decide whether
we shall move the capital of the Unit
ed States here is just as much to the
point as the proposition to secure in
freight-rates to Norfolk, as the situa-
tion now stands. And its proposition
to remove the county seat to Norfolk
is probably on par with the proposi-
ton to secure distributing rate-it
is possibility but not necessarily
probability.
There has been so much misrepre-
sentation over the freight rate situa-
tion in Norfolk that nine-tenths of the
people do not know that there is moth.
ing really before the town which con-
templates the securing of an in-rate
When the matter was first taken up
oy the Commercial club the members
were ignorant of the rights of Norfolk
in the premises. They considered
both the in-rate and the out-rate prop
ositions They found on investiga
tion that the town would have abso-
lutely no standing in court if a case
were commenced to force the lower
ing of rates to this place, and after
comforting with railroad men ascer-
tanned that rates would not be lowered
except upon the order of the interstate
| ~ ,4I
petent court. Norfolk was before the
interstate commerce commission once
and this is one of the few towns in
the United States today that enjoys a
legal freight rate" The court has
said what we are entitled to and the
findings of the commission are in eff
feet. The railroad conditions now are
identical with those in existence in
August, 1899, when Chas. II. Johnson
brought suit before the interstate COM
mission to secure reduction of rates.
The opinion of the commission was
that Norfolk should have the same
rates as Columbus, and these are now
in force. The dissenting opinion of
Commissioner Prouty is freely quoted
to show that Norfolk has a case
against the railroads but what court
in the land allows its minority opin-
ions to prevail? The commission as
n whole said what Norfolk was en-.
titled to, and the only way to change
that ruling is to bring new evidence,
which the Commercial club did not see
its way clear to do. The same roads
enter Norfolk that did at the time the
suit was commenced. The Elkhorn,
which was then controlled by the
Northwestern, has now become a part
of the Northwestern system; the c.
st. p. NJ. & o., was then and Is now
controlled by the Northwestern; the
Union Pacific then and now has the
terminus of one of its branches here
So there is no difference in conditions
all statements to the contrary not
withstanding, After investigating this
matter thoroughly, the Commercial
club decided that it would be a use
less waste of time and expense to at
tempt to do anything at present toward
securing an in-rate, because they saw
no possible way of bringing about this
desired result.
, But in the mealEme the suggestion
. was made that the club attempt to Sc
, allow Norfolk wholesale houses tC
. ship goods out and have them deliv
! cred at their destination at no greater
cost than as though they came through
the wholesale houses of Omaha, Lin
I coin, Sioux City or Fremont The
whole matter was laid before the
/, board of directors of the Commercial
club at a meeting called for that pur