The Minneapolis journal., 1906-06-26
PROBE TO GO DEEP
INTO GRAIN TRADE
Continued From First Page: 3

ment Minnesota had the best system of
laws for the protection Of the public
against the various encroachments of
the railroads Of any state in the union.
She is many years ahead OF the .states
around her, the Dakotas, Nebraska,
Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan,
and SO far as the La Toilette investi-
cation is concerned she will, therefore,
reap less direct benefit than the other
there Is still something more to be done.
and even If there were not, the state
would have lively interest in the
investigation from the fact that the
Minneapolis elevator companies stretch
out thru nearly all Of the states on the
three sides Of Minnesota, and will be
involved almost to a certainty should
any widespread condition Of crooked
ness be unearthed.
Jacobson's ssY" Law.
The most famous Of the jacobson
laws il the "Y" law, which has been
appealed to the federal supreme court,
where it was affirmed This law is the
basis for the "Y' section In the new
rate law Of this session Of congress.
It was put into the bill originally by
Senator Elkins at the suggestion of
Senator Nelson, who called his atten-'
tion to it. E,,.*g
Let me see your Minnesota law"
made his statement, The two ad-
journed to the Minnesota senator s COM
mittee room, where the Minnesota re-
ylsed statutes were consulted. Mr..
of the rate bill. ''H~ ~ B. '--s.-
In the senate this section, on mo-
tion of Nh: La Toilette, was made more
workable by the addition Of an en-
forGement .a3 3nd penalty clause and the
In the form in which it has been agreed
to it follows very closely the Mime
I sofa statute in the light of the de-
cision Of the supreme court uphold
ing it.
Break Up Monopoly.
Another state law for the passage, of
which Nelson and Jacobson acted to-
gether provides that elevators may be
constructed along the railroad right of
way, provided there is room for them.
IF there is not room, then elevators
may be constructed off the right of
way and the railroads are to construct
switch tracks to them.
This law broke up the former state
elevator monopoly under which the
| railroads picked out certain elevator
| companies and favored them at the ex-
pense Of all the rest, and Of the farm
| ers who desired to build their own ele-
vators. ...-
| Another Jacobson Nelson law in Min
nesota is the "platform'' law, requir-
ing railroads to construct platforms for
the unloading Of grain, so that the
farmers may load directly into the
cars. Still another Minnesota statute
| forbids railroad to discontinue sta
tion, once It has been established. This
law was tested to the court of last re-
sort and sustained in the Emmons case,
which came up from the town Of that
name between Albert Lea and the Iowa
state line. The Twentieth avenue case
in Duluth was another test case. The
immediate effect Of these laws in Min
nesota was to break up elevator mo-
nopoly and determinations and give the
farmers a free hand in marketing their
grain. -7E
Elevator men in the northwest who
know what the Minnesota laws are will
! understand without further ado Just
what it is that the interstate commits.
sion expects to unearth in the states
to the west, south and east Of Mime.
sofa when it gets busy under the La
Toilette resolution, and what Mr.. La
il Follette had in mind when he intro
duced his resolution.
1t is expected, also, that the investi
cation, when finally made, will develop
the absolute truth Of Senator Nelson
statement, made to the Journal CORE
spondent today and referred to above
that Minnesota for years has led all
the other states in the union in the ef
fectiveness Of its railway legislation.