The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-03-04
A S Spectacle.
Representatives of the Railroads Passing Railroad Bill
How the System Works in Congress-No Brbery-No
Scenes-But it's Big Business System.

/, DO fixed" who are tho members OF
that committee; who are tho "fixers?"
Take the majority party (Rcpublican)
| melrtbors
Senator Elkins Is chairman. We saw
last week that he represents tho Hog
| Combine" of West Virginia, which haa
SO corrupted tho State that the Governor
| had to appenl TO the Senate to save his
little shippers OF coal from his RAILROADS..
| And said then that Elkins committed
MS railroad man, Just such ncts OF
| oppression as tho Governor complained
| OF. Hero Is case In point: A man
1 named A. G. Fulmer leased from tho
owner of the Morsnntown and King
| wood IIailroad small piece of coal
and Ohio made 1t hard for the Nor
gantown and Kingswood till Elkins
bought 1t; and, later, the land leased
| to Fulmer. BY the terms of the lease
| Fulmer wns bound to ship so much coal
a year and he was keeping his contract
| till Elklns got the road. After that.
| Fulmer says (and the case Is matter
| Of rccorD he couldn't get cars. lie
! failed to ship as much coal as he should;
| this was called n breach OF contract;
| and Elkins wanted to take his mine
| Fullner resisted but Elkins ordered
tho tracks to tho mine torn up. and
! that put that "llttle shipper" out of
business.
Ibid you do that?" I nsked Senator
Elkins.
Eyes" he answered. ''but." and his
face Enlightened. II had an order from
court"
Tho System doesn't have to buy FL
tins. He is tho System. Mr.. Elkins is
n big business man. lilo says he is for
ss,,,p d k.,,k III.
tnat wanted to INK" "our" bill by hav-
Ing all rate fixing reviewed by the
courts
Senator Cullom is the second member
OF our committee. He Is the head OF
the so-called Federal Bunch that has re.
sisted the reform movement ont in I'LL
nois. But he is with the President and
the party for Our rate bill.
The third member OF our committee
Is Nelson w. Aldrch The bought voters
OF Rhode Island sent him here to repre-
sent that sort OF business. and he re-
presents that sort OF business: Tho
Standard OIL. sugar-all the privileged
businesses that look upon you and me as
consumers, not as citizens. Senator Aid
rich can be trusted to stand. without
hitching. between tho public and the
results OF hasty and ill-adviscd icsisia-
ton"
not be bought. Ee is a gentleman lin
the American sense). descended from
line OF privileged business men. he owns
about all the public utilities not yet
bought UP by the Prudential Life In
surance crowd of Jersey. He is not as
able as Aldrfch, bu. he represents rail-
rtads and big corporate business. cynI-
cally. but honestly Gin the American
sense).
Deliver. the NTH man, is big black
politician from Iowa. Iowa is for ratio
regulation: so Is Dollivcr. At least DoIli-
yer Is for the Hepburn-Dolive bill
Dolliver doesn't believe you can reform
men by law; he thinks our sole hope lies
In the moral regeneration OF the race. and
he seems to be an "optlmist," because
that is obviously impossible. A few years
ago Dolliver wasn't against railroads; he
was for Dolliver, and, though he listened
he couldn't hear the voters of Iowa
"clamoring for rate legislation Blu,
when Iowa changed. Dolliver. like Hep
burn, changed, and. like, Hepburn. he cut
his name on the bill. and now he is for
that Hepburn-Dolliver bill. For It? Why
some of the men who also arc for rate
regulation and who wanted to make a
few changes In tho bill Just TO perfect
1t. complained, In my hearing, because
DolliYer wouldn't let anybody touch Il.
They had to promise to take the blame
In his State before he would consent TO
verbal correction. You couldn't include
express rate discrimination to gave your
soul; not in the Hepburn-Dollver bill.
Might lose 1t some express company.s
senator's vote. No. sir. Senator Deliver
isn't Tor the regulation of rates. he lis
election out In his State next winter.
Foraker is number six, Fire Alarm
Foraker, OF Ohio "demagogue' In his
younger days. he Is now railroad dIrec-
Tor ana consistent. able representative
of corporations.
a,s when ne got" the Legislature which
elected n MIN to the United States Senate
OF ONO stu hung upon his silver tongue |
ana had faith In his passionate LOYALTY
s % mem. ne turned around and gave the
n'f ,a runway companies OF Cincinnati
f nn1n for fifty years. The people OF
ono were SO cnraged that they compelled
s she repeal bt Of that lay at the next SEES
aker,s firm was counsel and Forakers
son Is q yice-nresdent. Senator Foraker
i Is a great lawyer. at least. he was
MS. state. IIe wants rate regulation to |
be, reviewed In the courts Indeed. he is
saia to To-, nave been the first man to sug-
man from Massachusetts led tho penple |
to think (for- two days. tho President
h ~ i,a bG zen. induced to accept Foraker
,Clapp. OF Minnesota. is tbe next IL |
ne last on the Republican list. Reread /
me m, paragraph on Dolliver. and you have
GGtapp, lie says he was the Attorney
General of Minnesota who enforced ia |
rrate-regulaton laws of that state, hut but
ms people suspected him when he was
r re tyr a. to the Senate, and some Of them
regulation. lie says It wasn't S,n i exa rhIe
a,,pa le!aiIE n i was a paper; he had to
instead Of a pledEe. but nsn whata papeFi
y, WAS. he Is keeping It, like Doiliver, most
, ne, z, Y; He was mentioned with DOLL.
necessity to explain to Ills peopla any