The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-05-06
1R, HILLS OPINION
GRAFT NORTHERN BEFORE INTER
STATE Committee.
otber Things He Said Dis
elimination W s SOMETIMES
,essarv-InterSfate Commits
Inn 100 Busy Trying to Get
More Power.

Na' .he Rock Island system, was be-
81, "a .ha senate committee on interstate
fore s"r during the moring session
c'uT Hill, president Of the Great
.Sorn FOLLOWED. He said there was
Nu' "ofe basis on which a low rate
One ;, 10 no made. and that was the low
c0.'r If producing the transportation.
c.,0 vary with conditions. In max
hs', rstes on his road, he said, they
Ing ~ take into consideration what
aSo country produces. Tue railroad
VIC charged with the prosperity OF
Sa a,r man who lives on the road, if
that man worked.
discrimination Necessary"
determinations were necessary, de-
100 Mr.. Hill. When his road was
. tn;lt he went to Washington state and
s,nnd that its greatest product was
lumber. There was rate Of 80 cents
lnmher to the Eastern market.
amber dealers said they could ship
.. s. cents. He knew they could not
ao ii and he made rate of 40 cents
and was shipping large quantities of
Iruber This was discrimination
oco;nst lumber on the Eastern end of
tho road. but in ten years there would
he no lumber produced in that section.
4 was because the cars going out with
merchandise brought loads back that
these low rates could be made.
Reside the merchandise for the Pa
ci6c coast his road handled freight for
the Orient. Large quantities of flour
at one time were hauled from the Twin
Cities TO the Orient, but the interstate
commerce commission stopped it.
This statement produced a fire of
Questions from the committee, and in
reply Mr.. Hill explained that the COM
vanv was compelled to file its through
rates with the commission. This rate
being made public, was cut by rival
railroads which were not compelled to
make their rates public. His conpa-
ny, under the law, could not change
its rate for seven or eight days, and
meanwhile other lines took the cargoes.
Somebody Charging Too Much.
Mr.. Hill told of shipment of loco
motives from Philadelphia to Yoko-
hama by his company at rate equal
to what another company charged for
transporting locomotives 500 miles.
This is case,' he remarked, "for
the Interstate commerce commission to
take up and investigate. They would
lind somebody charging too much
Commenting on the statement of Mr..
Hill that in twenty years there had
been reduction of rates from two
cents to seventy-six hundredths of a
cent per ton per mile, Chairman Elkins
asked what would happen to rates in
. the next twenty yeatrs. s'Give the
roads fair treatment" replied Mr.
dill, and in twenty years I think the
rate will come down to half cent per
ton per mile
Mr.. Hill said the ability of the rail-
roads to raise money for increasing
tnelr equipment and for building ad-
ulsi0nal lines would be destroyed by
taxing away from them the power to
ilaAe rates. He criticized the terminal
Cpalges enforced below the Harlem
liver 10 New York, saying they were
greater than the rate from Buffalo to
naflem' He suggested that the inter-
s'''e commerce commission might in
''' s'gs these terminae charges.
why don't the commissioners take
kins. -
u;n iney are too busy" replied Mr..
n,' trying to get power to fix rail-
road rates."
bo. .nere was an interesting discussion
y''"een Mr.. Hill and Mr.. Elkins about
T 1u0 competition of Canadian roads.
luz latter asked what ought to be done
Que, meet the rates and rebates of the
canadian lines.
Nv we are willing to work that out
"p Oas ourselves" replied Mr.. Hill.
the no'Ofe We are through with them
p WIN cease cutting rates.
Hin pi to Senator Foraker, Mr..
sra IVA saia no interest would suffer if
Conn.,. s 'rafhc with non-contiguous
tho : as exempted from control by
' 'u'erstate commerce regulations.