Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-04-10
More About the History of the
Enactment of Railroad
Laws in This State
JACKSON DECEPTION
Perkins Manager confuses Measures
In An Attempt to Involve cummins
Ora Williams Gives the Facts
The Record Show. Perkins Manager.
Deliberately FaIsified.
[By Ora willlams.1
Special to Times Republican.

LDy oid
Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, April 10.--A short time
ago one Jackson, of Sioux City, signed
a letter addressed to Governor Cum
MINIS in which he declared that sit was
thru the efforts Of Governor Larrabee
and Mr. Perkins that law was pass
ed over your head controlling railroad
rates in Iowa. The writer gave in
brief the facts OF history in relation
thereto. No denial has been made Of
this statement, nor any effort at de-
nial: but the Call-(Blythe committee
under which jackson acted and which
furnished him the letter he signed has
caused to be printed in newspapers
having no regard for truth or decency
group picture Of house
members who opposed one rail-
road bill in the session 1883.
together with a cleverly constructed
story designed to mislead all readers
as to the facts. 1t Is the most ingeni-
ously constructed falsehood by impli-
cation that has appeared anywhere
The deception consists in confusing
various bills. The present Iowa rail-
road law under which the railroad
commission fixes rates became law
as House File 1913. That bill was a
committee bill prepared from numer-
Gus other bills, including one intro
duced by Mr.. Cummins. 1t passed
both houses unanimously. Mr.. Cum
Minis voted for 1t. He not only voted
for it but he took active part in the
debate to perfect 1t and he was one
of the conference committee which
recommended the bill and on which
report it was passed.
The Cummins bill. which had pre-
viousy been introduced, was at the
time summarized in the Des Moines
News, then the most earnest advocate
Of railroad reform, as follows:
"The Cummins bill for the regulation
Of freight and passenger rates pro-
vides for giving the railroad commits
sioners power to fix rates for all traf-
fic wholly within the state and that
the railroad commissioners shall re-
ceive complaints from any persons
WIZ tlllIlh lLCy dlC u4Juolly IlSdlCd III
the matter of rates and shall give both
parties hearing and then determine
the charge that should be made which
shall be a reasonable charge 1t pro-
vides that in determining what rea-
sonable rate is, the commission shall
take as prima facia evidence the low
est rate published or charged by any
other railroad for performing substan-
TALLY the same service. The bill, after
providing for the case Of roads doing
an interstate traffic and fixing the
method In which the judgment of the
commission shall be made known pro-
vides for penalty Of $500 for every
violation of the provisions Of the bill,
regarding each shipment or carriage as
a separate violation. This Is radical
measure and appears to offer q very
satisfactory solution of local rates."
to have the commissioners elected by
districts, and Mr.. Cummins opposed
this as he did some other visionary
bills which were never enacted into
law.
fThe essence of the Blythe committee
reply to my former statement Of facts
lies In confusing bills. Mr.. Cummins
did vote against House File 374. It
never became law. 1t was q bill to
put into the statute books the sched-
ule Of rates and to adopt classifica-
tion Of rates. What became Of this
bill?
The bill went to the senate, and on
March 15, 1888, the senate committee
on railroads reported in favor of the
abandonment Of Senate File 18 and
House File 374, and in favor of the
passage Of House File 373. This report
was signed by Senators Sweeney,
Young, Harsh, Finn and others. Act
ing on this report, House File 373
passed the senate unanimously as it
had passed the house.
Later in the session the railroad
committee of the senate, of which Lafe
Young was member, reported back
without recommendation House File
374, the chairman stating that major
ity of the committee believed the
schedules therein to be inequitable.
The same day the senate laid on the
table the 2-cent fare bill, which had
been opposed by Mr.. Cummins.
House File 373, which Mr.. Cummins
voted for was signed by Governor
Larrabee and it became the law Of the
state. Mr.. Cummins based his opposi-
ton to H. F. 374 on the ground that it
was unconstitutional and this view has
since been sustained by the courts.
The bill was so bad that 1t did not get
a vote in the senate. 1t was utterly re-
pudiated.
When William Larrabee next adj
dressed the legislature Of Iowa, in
January, 1890, after House File 373 had
been a law for nearly two years, he
wrote:
1.-THE last general assembly enacted
law to regulate the business of rail-
road corporations and other common
carriers in the state. The fact that the
act passed both houses without dis
senting vote proved that great care
and intelligence had been exercised In