Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-03-14
SIMMONS ON FREIGHT RATES
Senator from North Carolina Defends the
Hepburn Railroad Bill,
HOW CHARGES ARE MANIPULATED
Change I'm Schedules Have Greater
Emect Than Change I'm Rates
According GO Result OF
Speakers Research.

passcd number OF Dills. One OF tneiu pIO-
vides for the punishment of government
officials for the premature divulgence OF
secret information of government bureaus
In such matters as crop reports; another
grants executive authority in the matter
OF construction OF bridges over navigahle
streams. and stin another gives congress
siouaI sanction to the effort on the part
Of Delaware and New Jersey to adjust their
long pending dispute.
Mr. Simmons made the speech of the day
ON the railroad rate. He announced his
support of the house measure, but said
he would not oppose reasonable modifica-
tions. Mr.. Tilluan announced that after
tomorrow he would seek TO have the rate
bill taken up each day Immediately after
disposing Of the routine business of the
senate instead of waiting until o'clock
The following bills we're passed;
Authorizing the erection Of publie build
ing at Denver, Colo, at a cost OF 2,SOO,OOo
Regulating the use of reservoir sites on
the public lands.
Authorizing the secretary OF war to do
nate to the state of Idaho two Krupp guns
captured by Idaho troops in the Philippines.
Providing for the disposal of isolated
Providing for the establishment Of town
sites on the Kiowa. Comanche and Apache
Indian reservation in Oklahoma.
senator simmons Speaks.
Mr.. Simmons gave practically all his at
tention to the right of congress to confer
upon the Interstate Commerce commission
the power to fix rates. contending that
such a right exists beyond question. He
asserted contrary to the contentious of
Mr.. Lodge Mr.. Foraker and other oppo-
nents of the pending bill. that "existing
transportation rates are In many instances
UNJUST and unreasonably high. and that
unfair and ruinous determinations are
practiced against individuals and local-
! ties"
He said that this was true. notwith-
standing the declaration of the railroads
that there have been very slight changes
in recent years in the rates charged under
the six great classes into which freights
are subdivided, and added:
That fact, il it be fact, would show
ducers and shippers have not been in
creased. What It would show. and all that
| IL would show, is that II rates have been
! by the open and above-board process of
raising these class charges. AS matter
Of fact, shown by railroad statistics them
selves as well as by reports OF the Inter
state Commerce commission, railroad rates
have been increased and largely increased,
during the last six years, not by the
schedule or commodities. hut by the more
insidious method Of commodity reclassifca-
ti0nS. ~
Becoming more specific in his charge he
said: H-- sf-------
Beginning with the year 1900. hundreds
and even thousands of articles nave been
reclassitied by raising them from a lower
To a higher-priced class in the various or
ders promulgated by the railroads in the
several divisions into which they have
divided for this purpose in the whole coun-
try. In one classification, known as order
No. 20, issued early in that year and APP
plying TO northern and eastern traffic, there
were nearly coo reclassifcations. of which
512 were increases and only six reductions
BY another recassihcation order, made I'm
the same year and Known as order No 90
and applying TO western business 257 re-
increases and only seventeen reductions,
while by order No. %, applying to southern
trati1c, made In the same year. out of 63G
reclassifications bSl were increases.
Effect of RecIRssihcatIon.
! Considering all recassihcations made dur.
Ing these years. II may be that the num-
: Der of articles actually raised did moi
greatly exceed the number nominally re-
duced. but the relative number of articles
raised or reduced is comparatively unim-
: portant. The significant fact is the COM
mercial Importance of the articles so raised
or reduced and the resultant increase OF
] decrease In the cost of their transporta.
ton. Examination conclusively shows thai
the commodities reduced. compared with
those increased in these years are not only
. relatively of little commercial Importance
but that the percentage of the reduction
In rates on articles reduced is far below The
percentage OF increase in rates on articles
, He reached the conclusion that
III the high grade commodities on which
high rates are charged are mixed indis
upon which lower rates are cbarFed ~
e average cost per ton mile will be infuencef
, TO far greater extent by the amount ol
tonnage hauled than by the rate charged
: 1t Is fact OF common KNOWLEDGE show
/ by statistics and verified by the reports O
the interstate Commerce commission. tha
during the period of n,
and business activity there has been al
increase In the volume of low grad,
I increase in volume of high grade freishts
9 and hat this fact has held down the in
s crease in the average rate per ton mile
= He declared that the result was a dc
cidedly large increase in the average rat
per ton.
Railroad PROFITS Not Small.
; Mr.. Simmons also controverted the con
o tention that the profits on railroad invest
:, ments are small. saying:
AS a matter of fact, legitimate railros,
profits have greatly increased in recen
years. OF course, the average percentag
large upon capitalization Including mil
lions and even billions OF dollars base
& not upon cost OF physical Preparations o
upon tangible values at all, but base
mainly on earning capacity BY this pro
cess OF capitalization which a few year
ago, under the initiative OF a great imam
cier. became a lad in circles OF frenzie1
a finance, a large part OF 11b,OOO miles OF rail
/, way and over 500 independent lines nav
been reOrganzed and recapitalized.
F. After giving Illustrations and assertinl
20 that the 500 independent railway lines o
N the country had been reorganized into sl
Is or eight groups, he said:
" Notwithstanding this false and hctitiou
capitalization on account Of the enormou
n earning capacity Of our railroads the per
- centage OF railroad stocks paying dividend
II and the earning capacity OF railroads haV
y materially increased in recent years an
"A is still increasing.
- He said that while in 1857 the railroad
II earned S6.S62 per mile, the figure in lSC
AZ had been increased to Ss.sO6. In the latte
year the balance left, after deducting IN
interest and hxed charges from the earn
z ings Of the roads OF the country wa
scr. 10000. against SI4,OOO.oOO in 1880.
n FavOFitism 20 BiE shippers.
Mr. simmons said that notwithstandin
these dgures he did not believe that III
present tendency Of rates Is upward Hi
especial complaint was OF the favoritIsI
y shown 20 the big shippers. He hoped tina
pr the rspaeity OF both the railroads and IN
* big shippers would be restrained
se He did not believe, he said. that IN