The sun., 1906-02-07
Rate Regulation and the Millions.

In the House of Representatives jan
uary 80 the Hon. CHARLES E. TOWNSEND,
the eminent Michigan railroad expert,
made a speech in behalf of the Hepburn
rate regulation bill. According to Mr..
TOWNSEND, about everybody is crying
for the enlargement of the power Of the
Interstate Commerce Commission:
From the millions of farms between the oceans.
whereon the bone and snew OF the republic produce
Ms true and substantial wealth; from the million
factories which transform beneath the magic hand
OF enterprise and genius those farm products into
myriad forms of beauty and usefulness from tho
millions OF tradesmen who disseminate the output
o, factory and loom among the people from tho
professions which minister to the wants OF others
from forest and mine, comes up the demand ,ha,
the servant shall not be above the master"
Mr.. TOWNSEND must be a telepathic
reader of the public mind. Petitions
and memorials are notoriously easy
things to sign, and monster" collections
of them trundled pompously into leg
islative chamber may not impress expe-
rienced lawmakers. But surely, if all
sorts OF millions except millionaires pine
to have hook put into tho jaws of the
railroad leviathans, there must be
tidal wave Of memorializing petition
ing and supplicating names of aroused
citizens swamping the House and the
Senate.
On the day when Mr., TOWNSEND spoke
for the farm, the mine, the forest, the
store and the office twenty-seven petit
tions and memorials were presented
In the Senate. Of these exactly two
sympathize with Mr.. TOWNSEND. The
Rialto Orange-Lemon Association of
Rialto, Cal, prayed for the enlargement
Of the powers Of the Interstate Com
merce Commission. The Fruit Growers
Association of Marshallville and Monte
yuma, Ca, asked that private car lines
be placed under the Interstate Com
merce Commission. In the House on the
same day LAP petitions were presented,
If we count right. The Hon. ELIJAH B.
LEWIS of Georgia brought in three.
Citizens Of the Third Georgia Congress
district want private car lines subjected
to the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Peach growers Of Fort Valley want the
same. Fruit growers Of Georgia want
the Interstate Commerce Commission
to have the power to fix freight rates.
On the other hand, two petitions were
received from railroad employees against
giving the commission the power to fix
railroad rates. In the House on JAN
uary 81 came 100 petitions. One was
against freight rate legislation. None
was in its favor.
Thirty-seven petitions were presented
in the Senate February L. The Manu-
faoturers' Club and sundry citizens of
Fort Wayne, Ind, want to magnify the
Interstate Commerce Commission. Local
Union No. l, American Society Of Equity,
of Panora, Ia, asks for the passage of
the railroad rate bill. In the House on
the same day 142 petitions prayed. The
Manufacturers Club of Fort Wayne ap-
peared again. The Western Jobbers' AS
sociation petitoned twice, once against
private car lines, once for the enlarge
mcnt of the powers of the Interstate
Commerce Commission.
OF course, the guilt Of private car lines
/ can be dealt with without giving the
- Interstate Eommefte Commission the