The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1906-03-09

center of the stage III the Senate.
1t is a measure in which the
whole country is interested. The
bill will be amended, probably,
before it passes the Senate and it
will be the chief topic of debate
both inside the capital and over
the country at large. Hon.
Charles A. Prouty spoke of the
effect of the measure on New
England in Boston, Monday. Mr..
Prouty is one sof the Interstate
Commerce Commission and is
thoroughly Conversant with the
subject as well as very much in
terested in the bill or a measure
that will give to the commission
more power than that OF 1nvest1-
cation and suggestion.
Commissioner Prouty declared that
there was not the slightest fOunda-
ton for the assertion that the new
rate bill would hurt New England.
He said that there was no doubt III
the minds of those familiar with the
actual conditions in congress that a
measure substantially like the Hep
burn bill would become Il law at this
session and that there was still less
doubt that if by amy chance it
should fail of enactment now, an even
stronger measure Of regulation would
be placed upon the statute books in
the near future.
He said that many people in New
England even, while SympathiZing
with the great principles which UNI
derby the policy of the president, look
with apprehension upon the applica-
ton of that policy to the particular
section in which they live. A prom
inent senator had told him recently
that they could not rely upon sin
gle vote from New England on the
passage of the bill
THE apprehension Of my friends
seem to cluster about the idea that
if this law passes New England will
suffer from the incubus of what are
termed commission rates. that we
shall be afflicted with touch of GOV
eminent rate making While there
is not the slightest foundation for
any assertion of this sort ! want to
inquire for just moment if this
were possible would it necessarily be
an unmtigated evil for New England?
The interstate commerce commits
sion never has been Il political body.
BY the terms of the act creating it
that has been specially avoided. 1t
represents the entire people. What
! wish to emphasize, in conclusion,
is that New England suffers most
not from the operation of its own
railroads, but from those which lie
entirely without its borders
The foundation of the Standard
Oil company was the railroad rebate
If Rockefeller were to invest One-half
of his annual income in the stock of
the Boston & Maine at its present
market value, he would dominate
nearly every railroad of consequence
in northern New England He is in
vesting that income in roads of more
strategic Importance than the Boston
e Maine and he is thus perpetual
ing these unjust advantages.
Selecting an example the commits
SiOner pointed out that potatoes are a
commodity extensively raised in and
shipped from New England.
THE great potato section of New
England is AroostOOk county, Me- an
average distance of 40 miles from
Boston and 600 miles from New York
and the rate is p cents to Boston and
29h cents to New York. The Iowa
tariff for 400 miles is 20 cents, and
in Prussia it is 1872 cents. The
raaes of Iowa are materially lower
than those of New England those of
Prussia are lower still. | would he
glad to have some of these gentle
men who stand Mortified when you
talk of commission or of II govern
ment rate make plain just how it is
that the payment of these charges
from 10 to 80 1-3 per cent higher is
of such enormous benefit to the peO-
pie and the industries of New Eng
land"
New England requires an inter
state commerce law to protect it. not
altogether from its own roads. but
from roads whose operations are en-
tirely beyond its borders.
zone great industry of New Eng
land is the spinning and weaving of
raw cotton and we are referred to !
the rates on raw cotton and the rates |
on the manufactured product as phe-
nomenal rates which are made and |
maintained by our railroads that |
these industries may live.
What does in fact make the cot |
ton rates from the southern fields to |
the New England mills? The rail |
road commission of Texas makes |
them; the Mississippi river makes
them: the Atlantic ocean, which no |
man can mOnopOlize, l ought perhaps |
TO add beyond a certain point, makes |
them. When cotton is once mt Gal |
weston. where it goes upon rates fixed |
by the state, it can reach Fall River |
by water. Cotton at Memphis can |
90 to New Orleans by river and from |
New Orleans to Fail River by water. |
In point of fact the railroads carry |
every bale of cotton from Memphis |
to New Orleans but they apply IA |
rate which the river fixes. In point !
of fact, the railroads carry n large |
part of the cotton from the Southern |
field to the New England mills, but |
the rate which they make is deter
mined by the water This is true. |
The Boston x Maine railroad for the
purpose of maintaining mills upon its
line at Manchester and Lowell, gives
those points the same rates from the
South which they could obtain if
they were located upon the seab0ard.
1t does that. not as an act of mag
but as a mater of absolute
necessity.
"The rate on cotton piece goods
from New England mills TO Chicago.
a distance of LOO miles, is 80 cents,
and the rate from Atlanta. Ga, to
Chicago, a distance of 725 miles. is
also So cents. This is instanced as
an illustration of the way in which
railroads have assisted the New Eng
land mill as AGAINST the Southern |