Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-03-15
RAYNER FOR RATE BILL.
CONTINUED from Page IL

the United States were published to-
day there Is hardly any one who could
be made to believe that it truly repre-
sents the actual situation. 1t would
be derided by the public as the pro-
duct and hallucination of a disordered
intellect. We know, for instance, that
the rate on certain lines of merchan-
disc from Chicago to Denver is nearly
three times as much as the rate on
precisely the same line of merchan-
disc from New York to San Francisco.
We know that the rate. upon first class
freight from New England to the Gulf
is less than the rate from Chicago to
the same terminals, although the dis
lance Is more than 500 miles greater.
We know that it costs less to ship
goods the entire distance across the
continent than it does to ship the
same goods one-third the distance, and
that when goods are destined from
Boston to Salt Lake City they are car
ried to California and back again to
Salt Lake City in order to obtain the
cheap rate; and knowing these things,
we must realize that such a condition
of affairs at least requires supervision
upon the part of some tribunal outside
Of and beyond the railroads that are
simply building up their own territory
to increase their own revenue and
profits"
Use Common Sense.
Admitting the difficulty of dealing
with this subject, because of the eff
feet of water competition. Mr.. Rayner
said:
What we require is little common
sense upon this subject. We cannot
pass law that will convert the towns
and hamlets of Iowa Immediately into
great manufacturing centers, nor
| frame statute for the special benefit
of grain shipper in the city of Mil
waukee; but what we can do is to
take broad view of the whole field
and ascertain If we cannot. endow q
tribunal with adequate power when
ever cases occur where unnecessary
discrimination is practfced to apply a
remedy without inflicting any injury
upon the railroad"
Discussing what he declared to be
the impotency Of the interstate com.
merce commission under the present
law to enforce rate making DEGREES
Mr.. Rayner said: 1--WE may scheme
and forge and fashion, but it is not
| within the realm Of human ingenuity
to formulate any plan except the rate
making power that will remedy the de
feet and supply the omission"
| Replies to Foraker.
Mr.. Rayner replied seriatim to Mr.
Forakers points. Complimenting his
antagonist in high terms, he said:
I 81 have never known hopeless
cause to be managed with such con
summate and matchless skill. The
tide was dead against him, and wher
he encountered a cloudburst Of de
cisions from the state and fedora
!. courts, torrent that would over
whelm man of ordinary capacity, hi!
genius irradicated the storm, ant
! placidly and serenely he rode upon thu
] pillows.
cit shall be my effort to try to dem
onstrate that his fabric, beautiful il
it's architecture and symmetrical in it
proportions, vanishes like vision tn,
! moment you apply the battle ak o
i the law to the tottering foundation UP
on which it stands" In reply to tn
, contention that congress has not tn
power to blend the Judicial and legis
lative powers in body like the inter
state commerce commission. Mr.. Ray
? nor argued that there is no such blend
ing. He continued:
2 Differs With Ohio Man.
!, 81 will not for moment admit, a
. the senator from Ohio claims, that tn
1 commission in fixing rates is either e.
ercising a Judicial or a legislativ
power. / will admit that when upo
a complaint and answer and testimon
taken it declares rate to be unreas
: enable it is in the exercise of a judicis
function; but this Is by no means II
vesting it with the powers of a cour
because it can pass no order and ex'
cute no process that is effective
carry it's ruling into execution. So ia
as the exercise of Legislative fun
ton is concerned, when 1t fixes a ne
| rate in place of the rate that has bee
challenged in every case that hay
examined upon the subject, includin
each one of the cases cited by the sci
ator from Ohio, this function is spoke
of as an administrative and not a LEI
islative function"
The speaker ridiculed the objectio
that under the rate bill the interstat
commerce commission would have tt
right to change all the railroad rate
throughout the country, saying thi
the fact that the bill provides that +
change can be made except upon col
plant is sufficient reply
Dolliyer Agrees With President.
:, Senator Dolliver has decided to tt
i his own hand at turning out cou
: lreyieW amendment to the Hepbul
bill, task he at one stage of tt