Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1906-09-07


The nex rate lac Is in effast, sas
ihe ssaEaeaaaas ASK sf aaaktnS N 81
fecsiKe has Jus be=aa
liz first thiqg h. 10 tasd whAa the
liz ueaas. am that Is stat has in
terTupfei The nm vacations 81
the lawyers ard traffic experts u the
railroads aud caused these meeainss
\. Chicast. Aew YORK.. Atlantic city.
aad aR WASHINGTON. With sh~ inter
state csaHaHaeFee commission The
commission Is dealing with the rail
II ads il groups, First came the vest
err and soasAw stern railways. thga
the southern Enads came In. and after
them came the New England and the
Central Trunk line roads. What h the
commission trying 10 do And What
a. the railways want@ u the first
place. IL appears that the interstate
commerce eominissIon l. extending
the olive branch tn The railways after
having Won I'm II bitter fight. In which
so wv &A&@&@AAN Was s1b0AS%+ "a
commission vas under no obligations
10 help the railroads 10 interpret the
law. hut the chairman suggested u
friendly and informal Conference 90
talk oy.sT the meaning of some CON.
plirated points. Further. the commits
sinners intffaafei a desire 20 mitigate
features of the Law which might apr
pear naedlessiy harsh. At first the
traffic officials we're suspicious and
wary. but finally the discussion took
on a friendly tone, Il find the rail
roads willing and anxious to abide by
the provisions of the new law" said
Chairman KNAPP. They are anxious
10 cooperate with Us. so that IL will
produce results for the shipping aud
carrying public. such as congress
intended" To the same effect Com
missioner Clements said: What Is
there so puzzling about the new rate
law? Is II not simple 20 stop re&ates
aud to quit giving passes: Yes"
say the railways. but here Ia a thing
not so simple. Answer this: How
can a railroad compile and print two
million separate rates In sixty days?
And how q such a compilation be
posted in duplicate in every station
on its road: " But that Is what the
law demands. And again: How can
a railway print and post as part Of It's
rate the terminal charge OF a different
road a thousand miles away. over
which IL has no cOntrol?" How can
a railroad publish q joint through rate
ove- another road which dSes not care
to make a joint rate" How shall II
railway publish rates on private cars
which Ii does not own. and for which
i does not ever collect the charges"
How car export and import rates be
adjusted TO varying cea rates. II
the 30-day notice Is to apply to them"
How can railway tariffs be made
uniform?" The commissioners ad
NIT that these questions are rather
puzzlins, and they wan 10 help clear
them up. Another provision az the
law is that calling for a uniform sys
ten Of accounting on railways. II
will be August. 1907. before that pro
vision goes into effect. Prof. Henry
E. Adams Of Michigan university has
been hired at Sln.0o0 a year TO figur,
out a uniform system of bookkeeping
He has taken a house In Washington
and expects to work a year at tht
task. He will work with the NatfOna
Association of Railway Accountants
In the meantime the roads will be al
lowed to go on keeping accounts a.
they have been doing. The task Of
hearing complaints from shippers who
want determinations corrected In thu
new law has not even begun. They
will have to wait for a while.