Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-01-10
A FREIGHT RATE
MASS CONVENTION
One Made up Of Six Hundred
Delegates is Held in Wichi-
ia, Kansas.
A Permanent ORGANIZATION.
Perfected and Will Push Railway Rate
INSTRUMENTATION. Van SAINT
sounds the keynote.

Wichita, kAs.. Jan. l0~-A freight rate
mass convention, made w OF 500 dele
gates representing commercial and
farmers organizations from All parts of
Kansas, was held here today a per
manent Organization for the purpose Of
pushing railway rate legi8lati was
| perfected, and resolutions were adopt
ed urging Congress to give a railway
rate commission power to control rail-
road rates. II also was decided To
| perfect Organization IN every county
| in the state and TO follow IN the foot
steps Of Wisconsin in securing state
bill to control corporations. The con-
yenuon was strictly non partisan.
j. l.. Bristow OF Salina, Kas. ex-
fourth assistant postmaster general,
was made permanent chairman.
| Speeches We're made by Chairman Bris-
tow, S. r. vanSant, former governor
| of Minnesota, !. l.. Lenroot speaker
of the Wisconsin house Of representa-
| tives, and others.
| Gov. f. W. Hoch of Kansas who was
W AhfN pStn JIG VI Ali' NVtihtlE, cfHA
word that he was too III to attend the
convention.
EX.Gov. VanSant said In part:
The eyes of the nation are turned
| toward Kansas, and the people Of
| America are deeply interested IN your
struggle for selt-preservation | am
| with you IN your night with the stand
| ard Oil company and it's powerful head,
| John ID. Rockefeller.
"Do you know the power of corpora te
| wealth? DO you fully realize the vast
| influence II Yields? Have you passed
| TO consider how mercilessly II Furnishes
| those who stand IN it's way and op-
pose its will, and how 1t vlllifes,
abuses and msrepresents every man
| who does not oringe before IL? IL any
| one of you Is "A public official and has
| had the temerlty 10 do his sworn duty,
are you aware that you are the special
| object OF Its vengeance, and that eve
| ny effort will be made to crush your
Money n rapidly becoming all pow
| erful The wealth OF your arch enemy
| is greater than that of any man "who
| ever lived IN the tide of times
You can win this fight If you are de-
| termined. You have the power in your
| hands In our country the people rule,
| No man should go TO Congress or SID
| in the legislature who does not vote
right on questions affecting the welfare
| OF the state. Not only hold meetings,
but attend the primaries OF your party
and see that honest and efficient men
are chosen 10 represent you. Afterward
go to the polls and vote. Do your ut
most to eliminate the ward heeler, the
caucus manipulation and the party boss;
relegate to the rear the man with
I . LIT t.at IA HI
only test for public Office,
"Our legislatures should pass primary
election laws giving the people an OPP
portunity To nominate US senators as
well as all other officials by direct pri-
maries,
"As to the transportation question, 1t
affects every man, woman and child IN
the nation. one of the difficulties IN
dealing with it is the unfairness of the
railroads, 1t is not true, as they per-
sistently state, that the friends OF rate
regulation desire to have the interstate
commerce commission arbitrarily fix all
rates. We stand exactly with President
Roosevelt, aud only want power given
the commission after q rate has been
CHALLENGED and found to be unreason-
able, 10 name one. have it 30 into eff
feet Immediately and remain In force
until reviewed by the courts.
THE railroads now can do as they
please, as there is no power to enforce
the DEGREES of the commission. All We
ask Is to have the power delegated that
Congress failed to grant formerly
Either give the commission that au-
thorlty or abolish the law entirely
Give us this just mea sure, stop rebates
and similar determinations, let all
private car shipments cease, and mark
cd progress will have been made in the
settlement OF the vexed transportation
II am not an alarmist, but 1t Is time
to call a half We are building up
class OF individuals In our country by
special transportation privileges that
menace our free institutions.
"No one can estimate the damage
wrought by tn. pernicious system OF
favoritism. II and 1t alone enabled
John u. Rockefeller to successfully
crush every competitor and establish
the most gigantic monopoly on earth,
II Is enabling every man who enjoys
IL to destroy his rivals and plumber the
people. This man. with the railroad
magnates, together with the insurance
scoundrels. who have used the sacred
funds intrusted to their care, have cor
nered the markets, and whether prices
have y ne up or down have capped
rich harvest,
I'm the enforcement OF the law rests
the safety of the nation. We have rea-
son to he encouraged, indictments have
been returned against railroad officials
and shippers. Take courage Our
cause Is just and we have a fearless
leader in Theodore Roosevelt and in
splration TO every man who loves fair
play and wants square deal. Let us
do our duty, "a he Is doing his. and we
will have both equality before the law
and equality or opportunity heritage
that Is due every American citizen"