Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-05-04
WASHINGTON LETTER.

ASHlNGTON LETTER
prom our REGULAR correspondent
Washington. ID. G., April 2S.-The |
comedy of the Inter state Commerce
Comm issions investigation into tue
combinations and m0nopOlies of the
coal and oil carrying roads has been
continued IN Washington this week.
1t IS true that the Commission man.
aged to steal a march on some of the
officials of the coal carrying roads in
the Philadelphia hearings and it look
ed then as though the investigation
which was begun in response to a joint
resolution from Congress might turn
up some inter estiug data. But the
hearings of officials in the present SEES
sion has been more or less of farce.
1t is true that deplorable state of at
fairs was shown to exist, but the Of
ficers OF the roads q uestioned answered
with their tongues in their cheeks and
said after it Was all over that the cOm-
ul01iOu COulo uuVO iOoi AC0 JuSU 10
much by an intelligent perusal of the
annual reports OF the roads in con-
junction with copy OF tue Railroads
Manual. One instance was the case of
the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg
Railway which was under investiga-
ton. There were two officials of the
road up for examination. One was the
General Freight Agent, Mr.. Davis, and
the other the General Superintendent.
Mr.. Noonan. Between them they ex-
planned that the Rochester and Pitts
burg Coal and IrOn Company was the
property of the Buffalo, Rochester and
Pittsburg Railway. The Jefferson aud
Clearfield Coal and Coke Company was
owned by the same group OF officials,
and these two coal companies owned
mined and shipped more than 10 per
cent. of the coal that passed over the
Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg Rail-
way, which was primarily a coal car
rying road. Of course this is in dis
tinct defiance of the ruling of the Su-
preme Court which holds that q rail-
road must not have any interest In the
commodities it transports. But that
is a small matter to the roads. They
own the coal companies or the coal
companies own the railroads, which
ever way you prefer to put it. The Of
fcials come up and testify to the fact
and then say privately that the Inter
state Commerce Commission knew as
much before the investigation began.
The Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburg
Railway has been used merely as an
Illustration of the things that are COM
Ing out in the Investigation, not in any
spirit of malice or discrimination. The
officers of the road and the coal COM
panies that it owns are no better and
no worse than lot of other railroads
and their officers that will be shown up
in the investigation. The question is
whether Congress will make any use
of the information when it has the pa
pers transmitted to it. The chances
are that it will not. But any critics
who have the spirit of charity left with
them and who do not want to be class
ed as muck-rakers can wait for the
facts to develope and then form their
judgment.
There is one direction in which it
would seem that Congress is doing
good work. That is in the purifying
of elections. The Senate this week re-
ported favorably the resolution max.
ing it crime for corporations to con-
tribute to election funds. Now OF
course the contribution of any amount
to an election fund by anybody is wrong
in principle and onght to be suppress
ed. But if nobody had any election
fund, then the man with the biggest
bank account would be able to 60 on
the hustings and make the biggest
show and get his ideas the better put
before the people. So people who have
personal or an ethical interest in a
candidate contribute to help him In
his campaign. Then the other side,
seeing that there is money being spent,
starts out to collect money for it's can
didate and it ends in the party in pow
er which naturally has the whip hand,
landing more contributions than the
other side and presumably continuing
it's candidate in office. But the anti
contribution bill just reported is de-
signed to change this. 1t prohibits
national banks, corporations, engaged
in interstate and foreign commerce and
corporations organized under federal
laws from contributing funds to any
election. The penalty in the case Of
corporation is fixed at mot more than
So 900" and in the case Of individuals
,zbo IN oI,,1 ia tho nfiooro dirootnrs q nd