Mexico weekly ledger., 1905-08-24
Tweendledum and Tweedledee.

| Vrom the Chlcngo Evening P0st)
Writing from Milwaukee a cOrre-
pondent says that he hardly thlnkss
the Evening Post makes a fair pre-
sentatlon OF the purposes Of certain
proposed legislation when 1t refers to
II as a measure "for authorizing the
Interstate Commerce Commission to
establish rates for railway companies
ofithis country" Accompanying the
letter is a printed statement made by
Mr.. L. Z. Bacon, chairman OF the
Executive Committee Of the Interstate
Commerce Law Convention, before
the United States Commerce, May IL,
1905.
An extremely valuable contribution
to the voluminous literature Of this
controversy over the propriety Of the
legislation referred to is Mr.. Bacon's
admission as follows:
The burden of their contention is
that to confer upon any governmental
body the authority to fix all the rates
for the transportation Of persons and
property throughout the country
would be disastrous to the commercial
interests of the country, as well as to
the interests of the carrier, and that
no governmental body could be estab-
lished that would be capable of deal
ing with the subject in this way. l
am ready, as representative of the
commercial organizations Of the coun-
try associated In the effort to secure
legislation bringing the carriers under
suitable governmental supervision, to
concede these points, once for all, and
will say, in fact, that were such legis-
lation as has been argued against by
the representative Of the the railway
interests proposed, the interests l
have the honor to represent would,I
believe, oppose it as strenuously as
they have advocated the form Of legis-
lation which is embodied In the
successive bills that have been intro
duced in Congress at their instance.
1t appears, therefore, that Mr..
Bacon and the interests he represents
would strenuously oppose give to any
governmental commission authority
to fix all the rates for the transporta-
tlon Of persons and property. But he
would just as strenuously urge giving
the Interstate Commerce Commission
the power to reduce rates whenever 1t
saw fit TO doso
In other words, Mr.. Bacon would
not consider it wise or safe to empower
the Interstate Commerce Commission
to fix all the rates; but whenever a
shipper or locality complains OF
rate, the Interstate Commerce Com
mission in some mysterious way be-
comes gifted with wisdom and the
capacity to establish a rate that
would be lower than the one establish.
ed by the railroad and yet be treason
able aud just"
Practically it looks as though the
comforting Of this power upon the
Commission would either result In
little or no change in rates, because OF
the difficulty in finding any that were
not reasonable and just; or else
there would be an avalanche OF COM
plants in due proportion to the
| amount OF extortion claimed as being
committed by the railroads. II there
really be such an amount of hardship
worked upon the shipping community
as is pretended by those who nave
lorganized the attacks upon the rail-
roads. the Commission would ineV-
lltably be forced into such mass OF
correction OF rates as would make It's
duty almost equivalent to the Great
Ing of new tables. Yet Mr.. Bacon
saws he :would strenuouly oppose CIV
Iue the Commission that power.
And by the way, will Mr.. Bacon
kindly explain why be would oppose
the granting OF the general rate-maA-
ing power to the Commission when nc
lis SO eager to set 1t at work on the
rates In detail!
is there any more difference between n
that To which Colonel Bacon says ne Is
opposed and that which he is s.enu-
lously advocating than there was oe,
tween the celebrated Tweedledum ana
ITweedledeeg