Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-05-11

proposed Is but a 1.-THE of the power
which the government may exercise
oveG the railways without violating any
of the established principles OF good
government yet even that part should
not be exercised unless there be good
reason for so doing Congress has al
ready rendered the law as efficient as
1t can be so far as secret rebates or
secret determinations of any kind are
concerned, unless 1T be to meet and
embrace, by further definitions, some
OF the ingenus methods now en-
ployed to grant favors, thru private
cars. terminal switches and the like.
What has not been done Is to furnish
a remedy, first for an excessive rate.
and. second, for open, published rates
which discriminate between kinds of
traffic and between localities
No Remedy for Discriminating Rates.
| have already given enough con-
siderntion to the first, and turn my at
tention to the second. That the exist
ing law Is fatally weak with respect
to open DETERMINATIONS ana That moth
ing viii cure the defect save the au-
thority in The commission to Tx u rate
in the place of one rejected Is not
seriously controversial II Is, however.
clained-as l understand the testi-
money heretofore given that the rail-
way companies themselves have, In the
main, acted wisely IN establishing these
discriminating rates, and that IL, In
any particular instance, they have err
cd, they will be quick to rectify their
error AT this point the issue is join
ed. | submit that 1t is not incumbent
upon those who are urging congress 10
extend the authority of the Interstate
commerce commission to prove that
the rates of which they complain are
unjust and discriminating. 1t Is only
necessary to show reasonable num-
Der Of complaints. to show that they
are made in good faith, and that they
are of long duration. IL my state az
a locality, or any smaller community
as Il locality, or the men interested In
any particular traffic, have controv-
ersy of Importance with the railway
companies respecting the rates which
govern their business, they have
right to expect that congress Will Gre
ate some tribunal, If there be not one
already at hand, to settle and determ-
Inc that controversy as between them
and the railways. 1t Is intolerable to
ask them to submit their controversies
for final adjudication to their adversar-
les. To so hold Is for the government
to abdlcate one of It's highest functions.
and to say that congress has no more
to do with common carriers than 1t
has with private industrial enterprises.
The people of the country are abso-
a t1,a v,tl tt.,1 ,c ar
transportation, and 1t is not more I'M
psrtant to establish courts for the de-
termination OF civil controversies and
the punishment OF crimes than 1t is to
provide tribunal which can see to 1t
that competitors In business have a
square deal in reaching their mar
kets
Evidence from Iowa.
Do you doubt that there are enough
complaints of discrimination. present.
ed In good faith, of the highest con-
Germ to those who make them, to war
rant you in giving the commission the
authority to investigate the complaints
and to administer justice? I do not
know, save thru general publication,
how 1t Is elsewhere, but / do know
how 1t is in my own state.
take, for example, Dubuque, the
home of the senior senator from Iowa
"a city filled with energetic men who
want to do business in the surrounds
ing territory. 1t wants to sell It's
goods and manufactures, say, in
southwestern Wisconsin, in towns
from SO to 100 miles distant. Chicago
reaches these same towns from dis
lance of 200 miles or more at the same
rate which Dubuque must pay. 1t may
be that the railway companies have
a defense for such seeming injustice.
but we do not want them to pass up
on it's validity.
Dubuque wants to buy many things
from the south, but 1t must pay a
much higher rate than such cities as
Milwaukee, Madison, Chicago, Rock
ford and Freeport. 1t does a large
business in southern Minnesota and
South Dakota, but 1T has to pay prac-
tically the same rates as its COMPETE
tors. Chicago and Milwaukee, altho the
distance is little more than half as
great 1t sometimes desires to reach
the Pacific Coast territory, and 1t then
discovers that the Atlantic seaboard
cities can reach the territory at the
same rates.
1t seems to me that these things
are wrong. They may possibly be
right, but what a farce it is to try
the case before the railway companies
that made the rates!
Iowa Factories Hurt.
I take another instance. There is in
Fort Dodge, the home of the junior
senator from Iowa, company manu-
fnnt,,r;pcr hooto and S!hnoc TT ca1lG ity
product all over the north and west.