The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-02-20

the senate bill providing for the ap-
pointment of another assistant for
this work. That is not Questionable
nor essential to the friends of the
house bill. But it does not in the least
make up for the striking out of sec
ton 4.
The Illinois Law.
IF Senator Smith has read the IIli-
nois and Iowa laws he has not done
so with much care. All his state
ments about those laws are either
erroneous or Intentionally misleading.
He says, The Illinois law gives the
board power to make a maximum dis
lance rate 1t gives no power to make
commodity rates, jobbers' rates, for
milling in transit, hence
the rejection of the Illinois law the
gives these powers That statement
is a gratuitous insult to the large num-
Der of business men who have con-
cerned themselves to secure some ade-
quate legislation on this important
subject, asking no more than the
ante election promises of both parties;
and it is a fiat misrepresentation of the
laws of other states. Why are not the
provisions of the statutes cited which
give such powers? There is nothing
in the Texas law different in this re-
the provisions of the Illinois or Iowa
laws. In all three states the rail-
road commissioners are given full au-
thority to fix the classification and
the only requirement is that the
classifications must be just, reasonable
and not discriminatory. There is
nothing in the Texas law, or in any bill
that has been before this legislature,
that authorizes any favor to a. big
shipper that the small shipper is not
entitled to. Evidently the senator does
not know the difference that is made to
all shippers between carload and less
than carload shipments. In the former
the rate is always less, and that is The
rate in which jobbers are most interest
ed. But the shipper of one car has the
same rate as the shipper of 20. If the
senator has the same feeling of hostili-
ty to section 4 that the railroad attor-
neys have expressed, because it has too
much of a Texas flavor, why did he not
suggest substituting the provisions of
the Illinois law? Then he would have
had section 4. beginning in line 10 read:
The railroad commissioners are hereby
directed to make for each of the rail-
road corporations doing business in
this state, as soon as practicable, a
schedule of reasonable maximum rates
of charges for the transportat ton of
messengers and freights and cars of
each of said railroads. Said
commissioners shall from time to time,
as often as circumstances may require,
change and revise said schedules That
covers all that the house bill empowers
the Kansas board to do and it can be
done under the Illinois law without no.
tice and without a hearing. The house !
bill authorizes the board TO exercise
such power only after notice and a
hearing, and then only to correct or
change the railroad schedules of rates
in the particulars in which they are
found to be unjust or unreasonable
All the objections. criticisms and
insinuations that have been made
against the house bill may properly
come from the railroads which are
anxious to hold the advantage of the
situation in Kansas; but they have /
suspicious sound when uttered by one
who poses as the special friend of the /
small shipper May we not ask if the
ell e'-inner7' friend does not protest
too much. Verify the voice is Jacobs
out the hands are the hands OF
Esau."