The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current, 1905-05-31
WILL CALL EXTRA SESSION.

1t is announced from Washington
that President Roosevelt has decided
to call congress in extra session or
or about October Is, to consider rail
road rate legislation. A bill which
gave the interstate commerce commits
sion the power to regulate railroad
rates vas passed by the house of rep
resentatives at the last session Of
congress, but it was not acted upon
by the e ate.
The position Of the president in this
matter was publicly stated in a speech
that he made recently, in which he
said:
IA century ago the highways OF
commerce were exactly such as they
have been from the days of the dawn
of civilization. We now have the
great highways Of IN of an
entirely different kind. For the first
time in history we have a highway
for the commerce of all the people,
under the control of q private individ.
ual or a private corporation. Now,
gentlemen, let me in the first place
insist upon this fact, that the men
who have built up the great railways
of this country, like the other men
who have built up the great industries
OF this country, have as a rule made
their fortunes as incidents to benefit.
ing and not 20 harming the country.
"Personally, l believe that the fed
eral government must take an increas.
ing control over corporations. trust
there will be no halt in the steady
process of assuming such national
control. and the first step toward it
should be the adoption of a law con.
ferring upon some executive body the
power Of increased supervision and
regulation of the great corporations
engaged primarily in interstate COM
merce of the railroads. And my views
on that subject could not be better
expressed than they were expressed
by the attorney general in his COM
munication to the senate committee u
couple of weeks ago. l believe that
the representatives Of the nation
should lodge IN some executive body
the power to establish a maximum
rate, and the power to see that the
provisions Of the law apply in full to
the companies owning priv ate cars
just as much as to the railroads them.
selves. The courts would retain the
power to interfere and upset any &C.
ton that was ~confiscatory in its ma.
ture."
The people of Montana are with the
president in his determination to Sc.
cure a square deal" between the
railroads and the public, and it is
hoped their senator's and representa-
tive in congress will support a bill
that Is designed to secure just treat
ment for all interests concerned. In
this connection the Helena Indepen.
dent makes these pertinent remarks:
Senator Carter asks the business
men of Montana to advise with him as
as to the equities and injustices of
railroad freight rates as they are ap-
piled to the shippin interestsg of Mon
tana. This is a timely suggestion.
The Helena senator will be called upon
to vote upon this question some time
the best interests of Montana as it Is
necessary for his personal guidance
that the men who gain or suffer by es'
tablished railroad-rate regulations in
this state should confer with him.
Among woolgrowers, cattlemen and
farmers, there is a widespread and
well-founded belief that the adjust
ment of freight rates upon the pro-
duets Of the farms and ranches OF
Montana is dependent upon the sum
that the different products "will
stand rather than upon the volume,
destination, value or density of the
consiguments. In other words, the
railroads operating in this state have
delved into the affairs Of the ranch
man. farmer and cattleman, 50 assilu-
ously and so carefully, that the rate
maker in St. Paul, Minneapolis or
Chicago, knows just how much frcigh,
The producer and shipper Il pay
without going broke
Having established this broad and
usually accurate hypothesis, the
Trainer of the railway tariff, clas-ili.
cation sheet and ratc.table, proceeds
to sock it, to the producer. Not on
Il basis of long-haul or short.haul;
not on a basis OF valuation, compact.
ness, competition or accessibility. bu,
on Il basis OF capturing every dollar
OF profit over and above the living *
penses of the producer.
The result of this loug.cnforceJ
system 60 of rate.making has been &c
make the husbandmau of Montana q