Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-01-12

burn bill that will meet with the APP
probation of the Interstate Commerce
Commission. 1t increases the person
mel of the commission from to 10 but |
1t raises the salaries of all the men,
bers to $40 900 year. This will make
the places more acceptable to a high
er class of men, but 1t is not calculated
to decrease the rush of office to any ex
tent even among the less well ualifed.
AS to The question of rebates, the
commission has had three. conferences
in three weeks with the representatives
OF both the eastern and the western
trunk lines. All the lines said they
were gong to be good and would agree
to stop giving rebates at all. If this
were done there would be scarcely any
need for rate legislation. Chairman
Knapp of the Interstate Commerce
Commission says that be believes bust
ness honesty Is coming to the surface
in the minds of a great many shippers
and that they will stand by their ex
pressed intention not to ask nor re-
ceive rebates. This is optimism out
OF sight on the part of Mr.. Knapp.
He ought to remember that several
years ago, when the rebate evil was
more in the form of cash payments than
it Is now. nearly all Of the railroads of
the country assembled and assured the
commission just as they have now
done, that they had granted their last
rebate and were going to lead hence
forth a blameless life. They even ap-
pointed man to keep an eye on them
selves and to report any violations of
law to the commission. The very first
report that this agent made was fol
lowed by the loss of bis job. Since
then the railroads have been giving
all sorts of rebates, direct and indirect,
and it was only when the danger of
rate legislation became pressing that
they came into camp and promised to
be good if the big shippers would let
them. OF course the b g shippers will
not let them. That is not what the
big shippers are in business for.
One of the subjects that has occupied
the attention OF social and official cir
Giles in Washington almost to the ex-
clusion of congress, is the treatment
meeted out to Mrs. Minor Morris at
the White House the other day. This
woman it may be remem bered, went
to the White House to see the Presi-
dent about her husband who, as sue
alleged, has been uujustly dismissed
from the army medical service. She
was ordered out of the house by AS.
sistant Secretary Balnes and failing to
go promptly, was hustled out by two
policemen and a negro janit0r. She
fell down and was dragged across the
wet asphalt and sent to the House of
Detention where she was locked up on
the charge of insanity which was not
sustained. Now no one thinks for a
minute that the President had any.
thing to do with the occurrence or
knew of it till be saw it in the papers.
But it is suggestion of the style in
which things have been running at the
auti-rooms White House for several
months The Secretaries and assist.
ant secretaries have gradually assum-
Ell the functions of sully watch dogs
and have hedged the White House
around with ceremony and restrictions.
The President is accessible if at times
abrupy and quick tempered, and he
is always decent and respectful to wo
man even if they are not yonng and
pretty. Mr. Barnes, the Secretary
doubtless realizes now that it would
have been better to have allowed the
eccentric Mrs. Morris to read the Pres
ident her original poem on insomnia.
The poem would doubtless have had
a sapOrific effect on the Presl dent.