The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-08-10


sion be clothed with power to declare
given rate unjust and to prescribe
rate in lieu of such unjust rate, the rate
prescribed by the commission to obtain
unless and until declared impractical
by the courts, and the people are with
him in his demand. A campaign of edu-
cation is now being waged, by both the
railroads and those favoring govern
ment regulation. | think it is gener-
ally admitted that there is no DISPOSE
ton on the part of the people to either
confiscate the property of the owners
of railroads, or to impose any unreason-
able conditions upon them. What we
demand is square deal for both the
people and the railroads. That the peo-
pie are not now receiving fair treat
man having knowledge of the subject
will deny. A fixed railroad rate means
that if John Jones wants to ship car
load of beef from Garden Grove to Chi
cago he can do so at the same rate as
Armour & Company. At present, he is
in the position of man who has to pay
four cents on a letter, where Armour &
Company pay but two. 1t is hopeless
for him to enter into competition in the
face of such discrimination. When we
find that beef is higher than ever and
that cattle are plentiful, then either the
Beef Trust or the railroads are reapng
an enormous harvest at the expense of
the people. If railroad rates were the
same to everybody, either the trust
would have to lower the price of beef
or be undersold. Standard Oil and the
Beef Trust by their system of private
refrigerator cars, have largely over
come the spirit Of the Interstate Com
merce law. Neither corporation will
put their cars upon any railroad with
out an exclusive contract. Armour
handles fruits, potatoes and apples, as
we'll as beef. When you can see neither
the books Of the railroads nor the books
evidence. With the books of the rail-
roads as open to the public as those of
the Treasury Department of the United
States, or of the State of Iowa, there
would be no such leaps in value as Mr..
Prick was able to achieve in the stock
of the Reading when he forced it up
from $40 to $50 share. AS an illustra-
ton of how the private refrigerator car
helps Armour and imposes handicap
on the individual shipper, cite you to
tae statement made by Mr.. Geo. F.
! Mead, of the National League of Com
mission Merchants before the HoGse
Committee on Interstate Commerce:
Take some shipments to the city of
Worcester. Armour & Company had all
the information about these shipments.
They knew the time they were shipped
an | when they We're due, and the cost
of the car when it was bought in the
open market, and if that carload Of
freight was due on Wednesday they
would put carload of freight in there
on Tuesday and fill the market, and
when the carload of freight got in there
on Wednesday they found the market
out from underneath them" Mr.. Mead
showed how Armour can buy carload
of potatoes at the same price as himself
in Michigan and sell at a profit of S35
in Boston, while he would sell his at
loss of $50, and this because Armours
tariff for one of his cars from Michigan
to Boston to an outsider is So There
are other cars that would do the work
at less cost to the producer, but they
cannot be used for Armour has an ex-
elusive contract. The railroads con-
tend they would welcome law that
would rid them of this domination, but
in the hands of Rockefeller and the
Beef Trust they are helpless.
The railroads are neither honest nor
consistent in the campaign they are
now making to influence the people on
the question of government regulation
of freight rates, In the literature that
is being prepared and sent broadcast
over the United States by the bureaus
which they are maintaining in New
York, Chicago and ST. Louis, it is main
tanned that the relief demanded by the
people will be procured by the prohibi-
tion of the granting of rebates, and the
use of private cars. | admit this will
help one phase of the condition, but not