Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-09-15
GIVES WARNING
TO COMMISSION
WESTERN RAILWAY PRESIDENT
PREclPlTATEs STORM IN
COTTON RATE HEARING
Says Is 1t Fatal to Wink One Eye at
Practices of Exporting Cotton Un-
der Such Schedules as Have Been
Requested-Leads to Worse Things.

Washington, d. c., Sept. 14.-In a
letter written by "a prominent railroad
president whose name is well known
throughout the country" the interstate
commerce commission is warned in
plain language against letting down
the bars" that would result in flood
OF illegal practices and a revival of
abuses the rate law was designed to
abolish.
The letter, which Chairman Knapp
read at yesterdays hearing Of the COM
mission, stunned the railroad men and
shippers, and Immediately was charac-
terized as an insult to the commits
sion
The prominent railroad president"
whose name was not divulged, but
who, 1t Is said, lives in Chicago, goes
on the assumption that the commission
is about to shut one eye to the en-
forcement Of the thirty days notice
OF rate changes SO far as export cot
ton Is concerned If the commission
should do this, he declares, it later
will have to wink the other eye at Sc
cret midnight rates which some rail
roads will assuredly slip in on it's blind
side.
Success of New Law Endangered.
The result Of this he declares will be
that all roads In self Defense will be
forced to resort to trickery which will
compel railroad officers "to again sit
in the shadow of the penitentiary for
the remainder of their lives"
The commission was in session to
hear the testimony of railroad mon
and shippers for and against the pro-
posal that cotton carrying roads be
permitted to change rates upon short
notice. A witness had concluded his
argument on the affirmative side of
the question, when Chairman Knapp,
announcing he desired to read letter
from prominent railroad president
who had something to say on the ne
gative side, produced this letter, which
| fell like a bomb shell into the argu.
ment.
81 can conceive OF no reason which
would apply to cotton which would
not, with equal forcs, apply to export
grain, -four, live stock and packing
house products. If you will examine
the schedules on file in your Office yor
will find thousands of so-called export
schedules which bear on their faces
evidence that they are In reference
to special contract which has been
made between the railroad company
issuing it and some particular shipper
who is thereby under color of law
given preference over all Of his com
petitors, which is the very thing the
law was intended to prevent The
thirty days notice makes it only lit
tie more difficult to manipulate the ex
port rate for the benefit Of the large
shippers. 1t was by means Of such
schedules that the export trade OF
packing house products from Kansas
City was manipulated The court helc
the schedule and the practice unlaw
full, assessed the maximum fine, ant
regretted th tathe law did not permit
Imprisonment. The present law per
mits Imprisonment.
Fatal to Wink One Eye, He Says.
''If you wink at the practice of ex
porting cotton under such schedules as
requested you will later have to wink
the other eye at the same practice II
regard to the export Of wheat, flour
and packing house products, and
shall then be compelled to go out O.
the export trade or to compete agains
such practices by adopting the same
methods"