Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1906-10-19
OUR WASHINGTON
NEWS AND NOTES
ITEMS OF INTEREST BRIEFLY
CHRONICLED-
CHANGES IN The CABINET
Roosevelt Has Under Consideration
Several Changes, But is Meeting
With Some Opposition.
new QUESTION DEVELOPS
Interstate Commerce Commission to
be Called on to Construe Hepburn
Bill as Relates to Negro Passengers
Riding with White Passengers.

The Interstate Commerce Commits
sion will probably be called upon, at
an early date, to construe the Hep
burn Railroad Rate Law as effecting
the separate coach laws of the South
ern States, so far as they result In
preventing negro passengers holding
Interstate tickets from riding in cars
with whites passengers. A letter has
been received from negro In Chat
tanooga alleging that the separation
of the races in Interstate transporta-
tien is an illegal discrimination aga
inst negro passengers. The letter did
not allege any specific case Of diserim-
ination, and the Commission replied
that it could take no action until
specific complaint had been filed. 1t
is not known whether the Chattanooga
negro will file a formal complaint or
not, but it is inevitable that this ques-
ton as to the legality of the separa-
tion of the races on Interstate trains
will come before the Commission soon
er or later. and will have to be decid-
ed.
When the Hepburn bill was before
Congress the danger that it would
break down the separate coach laws
was pointed out, and the Southern
Senators and Representatives who vOt-
ed for it did so with their eyes open.
Some of them held that the law would
go no further than to supply equally
good cars for both whites and negro
passengers, but even if it should be so
construed it is doubtful if it would be
practicable for the roads TO comply
with it, for a car used exclusively
for negroes would deteriorate much
more rapidly than a car of the same
| character used exclusively for whites
passengers. Whatever may be the
effect of the law as applied to ordi-
! nary day coaches many lawyers who
have studied the questiOn believe
there is no doubt as to its applica-
tion to parlor cars, sleeping cars and
I dining cars. Under this law a negro
willing to pay for a parlor car seat,
sleeper car berth, or a meal in a
dining car must be accommodated
and the railroad must give him equal
| ly as good service as is given. to
white passengers. In other words,
every parlor car, every sleeping car
and every dining car III the South
must be opened to negroes.
Cotton Export Rates.
The Importance to the South Of a
ruling by the Interstate Commerce
Commission that will permit Southern
railroads to change export cotton
rates whenever necessary to equalize
rates through the Gulf and South
Atlantic ports with the rates through
North Atlantic ports is shown by the
tables Of ocean freight rates for the
month Of August published by the
Bureau of Statistics of the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor. These
tables shown that the rates from New
York to Liverpool remained station
ary through the month at l6 cents per
100 pounds, which the rates from New
Orleans fuctuated between 26 and
30 cents-a range Of 9 cents from
from New Orleans, it is apparent that
from New Orleans, it is apparent that
if the roads leading to the latter port
should be required to give thirty days
notice of changes Ia rates, of even
thre days notice, no cotton would go
by the way of New Orleans when the
ocean rates from that port advanced.
It is only by giving railroads alb
solute liberty to change their rates
with every change in the ocean rates
that New Orleans can be enabled to
compete with New York, and it Is
only by continuing this system that
the cotton grower can be assured of
the benefit Of competition between
buyers for the North Atlantic ports
and buyers for the South Atlantic
and Gulf ports. Unless the Commits
sion can be induced to make an or
der to the contrary the Southern
roads, beginning on Nov. |, will have
to give thirty days notice Of every
prospective change in export cotton