The San Francisco call., 1905-05-04
He Tells Senate Committee
on Interstate Commerce
That Determinations Are
Necessary to the Business
DESIRES A FREE
HAND IN MANAGEMENT
Warns the Body Not to Harm
Nations Trade and Says He
Believes Freight Charges
Will Decline in Future

WASHINGTON, May 3.-Robert Ma
ther Of the Rock Island system was
the first witness before the Senate
Committee on Interstate Commerce to-
day. No changes are necessary in the
present law except the restriction of
the scope and power of the Interstate
Commerce Commission, he said.
James j. Hill, president Of the Great
Northern, followed He said there is
one safe basis on which a low rate
can be made, and that is the low cost
OF producing the transportation. The
value of the service is determined by
the density of the traffic, and that
makes the rate. Rates vary with con-
ditions- Ia making rates on his road
he said he had to take into consider
alton what the country produces The
railroad was charged With the prosper
ity of every man who lives on the road
If that man works. Determinations
are necessary, declared Hill
When his road was built he went to
Washington State and found that its
greatest product was lumber. There
was rate Of 80 cents per hundred
pounds on lumber to the Eastern mar
ket. Lumber dealers said they could
ship at 65 cents He knew they could
not do it and he made a rate Of 40 cents
and was shipping large quantities of
lumber. This was a discrimination
against lumber on the Eastern end of
the road, but in ten years there would
be no lumber produced in that section.
1t was because the cars going out with
merchandise brought loads back that
these low rates could be made. Be-
sides the merchandise for the Pacific
Coast his road handled freight for the
Orient. Large quantities of -four at
one time were hauled from the Twin
( Cities to the Orient, but the Interstate
Commerce Commission stopped it, he
said.
WARNS THE SENATORS.
This statement produced fire of
questions from members of the COM
mittee, and In reply Hill explained that
the company was compelled to file its
through rates with the commission.
This rate, being made public, was cut
by rival railroads which We're not
compelled to make their rates public.
His company, under the law, could not
change its rate for seven or eight
days, and meanwhile the other lines
, took the cargoes- If the ships of the
company did not carry pound of
freight it would make no difference
with the dividends, he stated.
Speaking of the great tonnage of
the railroads, Hill warned the COM
mfttee to be careful and not cripple
the business of the country: mot for
. ourselves" he added, because before
you got down on us there would be
a great many corpses about the coun-
try" He spoke of the congestion of
freight at Eastern ports and said
business was going to the Gulf, al
though shipping rates to Europe from
! Gulf ports were very much higher.
Roads east of Chicago would have to
raise their rates in order to get means
to build more extensive terminals.
Hill said that while Congress was
legislating for safety appliances for
! employees it might provide better safe
ty for the public. He attributed 80
per cent of the accidents to non-ob-
servance of rules.
SAYS RATES WILL DECLINE.
He told Of shipment of locomo-
tives from Philadelphia to Yokohama
by his company at rate equal to
what another company charged for
transporting locomotives 500 miles.
This is a case he remarked, for
the Interstate Commerce Commission
to take up and investigate. They
would find somebody was charging
too much.
Commenting upon the statement Of
Hill that in twenty years there had
been reduction of rates from cents
to 10 of cent per ton per mile,
Chairman Elkins asked what would
happen to rates in the next twenty
years.
Give the roads fair treatment" re-
piled Hill, and in twenty years 1
think the rate will come down to n
half cent per ton per mile"
! Hill said that some years ago the
Transcontinental Association paid the
Canadian Pacific Railroad 100000 a
year to get out of certain business on
which the road was cutting rates from
New York to San Francisco.
Replying to a question by Senator
Clapp as to the effect of the Panama
canal on the railroads, Hill said that
for Atlantic and Gulf ports and for
$50 miles inland the canal would be
of some advantage. But he added,
"for all interior points we will meet
any rate made by the canal route
Hill declared that every railway of
ficer should be disqualified from en-
gaging in the production of traffic on
a line where he is on the pay roll. be-
cause of the temptation to favor the
company in which he is interested.
YOSEMITE VALLEY.