The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1905-04-06
Manufacturers of kenosha Urge
Assemblyman curtiss to Vote
Against Rate Com. Bill.
ADMINISTRATION PETITIONS
Manufacturers Ask the Assemblyma
to Allow Them to 'sFight 1t out
With the Railroads. With
out State Interference.

The manufacturer of Kenosha have
broken their silence in regard to the
passage of freight rate commission
Dill and the prominent manufacturing
companies in the city have sent let
tiers to Assemb1yman Curtiss urging
him to use his influence to defeat such
legislation and declaring that the bill
now proposed is an especially pernici-
ous.on and one that will be of great
damage to the industrial interests Of
Kenosha and Kenosha county.
The letters are not impassioned APP
peals but simply plain statements to
show that the bill as proposed
would work harm to the industries
and bring about an unsettled condi-
ton IN the business world of Wis
! consin.
On the other hand the administra-
ton men have been busy and petit
tions have been sent to Kenosha city
and county in which the people are
urged to demand from the legislature
the enactment of freight rate COM
mission bill, the commissioners to be
appointed by the governor. These
petitions have been kept pretty much
in the dark, and so far as can be
learned they have not been presented
| to single manufactures or to any
interested person for signature.
| Frank S1osson, Of the Balm Wagon
works, who has made critical study
of this proposed freight rate legisla-
ton, was seen this morning and when
asked in regard to the action of the
Balm Wagon works in protesting
against the bill he said:
"The Balm Wagon company has
sent letter to Assemb1yman Curtiss
asking that he use his influence in
defeating the Hatten bill or any SINH
| lar measure. In the letter we have
simply told the assemb1yman that we
desire to fight this matter out with
| the railroads ourselves, and we are
| confident that we can do it better
than any state commission. We have
| informed Assemb1yman Curtiss that
the Balm Wagon company has not re-
ceived a cent in freight rebates, and
we are ready to back this statement
with facts.
| 1T has been repeatedly asked
said Mr.. Slosson 'why the manufact-
urers do not go to Madison to protest
| against the passage of such a bill.
| We manufacturers are not fools and
we are well aware that the Governor
and his men are in the saddle and it
would be useless for us to butt our
heads against a stone wall. The
followers of Governor LaFo11ette
have had their instructions and they
will follow them regardless of any
thing that might be said by me or any
other men regardless of the interests
we represent"
"The Chicago Tribune" continued
Mr.. S1osson, has splendid adver-
tisement for Mr.. LaFol1ette. 1t is an
article which makes an effort to show
that the governor may not be able to
force the passage of the freight rate
commission law, and then when it is
passed it will be used to show how the
governor won his great fight against
tremendous odds. The article seems
to me to have been written by the
governor himself and some one should
| call him to account on it. One para
graph in particular is amusing. That
is this one referring to rebates. Mr..
| LaFol1ette has declared that millions
Of dollars has been paid in rebates In
Wisconsin, and this is in a way a fact.
Rebates are paid every day by the
railway companies and to factories in
Kenosha. They are, however, 1egiti-
mate rebates. The Balm Wagon COM
pany has received what the governor
calls rebates, in this way. Sometimes
a car sent out of the yards here is
billed as twenty thousand pounds too
heavy, and the company at once puts
IN claim for the return of the freight
charges, and they are usually re-
turned. This is. what the governor
calls rebate, but it is, simply the re-
turn of an over charge on the part of
the company. know it to be a fact
| that the governor has been allowed to
make copies of records from the books
of the railways doing business in
| Wisconsin, and that he has in his
office list of the rebates paid. defy
Governor LaFo1lette or Speaker
Lenroot to publish this list. It
contains the name of every shipper
that has received a cent back from the
company, but Mr.. LaFollette dare not
make this list public"
Mr.. Slosson intimated that the rail-
way companies did not fear the pas
sage of the drastic laws proposed on
account of the fact that their consti-
Itutiona1ity would be at once attacked
and the companies feel certain that
they would not be held good in the
courts of the state and nation.
George HAYES, who lives just out
side of the city on Ashland avenue,
met with a bad accident at the Allen
tannery Friday evening. He was
IL. - u -