The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-08-30
NEW ENGLAND'S
 INDUSTRIAL FUTURE Congressman Hills Views of the Conditions and
 the Remedies.
MANUFACTURING IN
 EAST INDIANA
Local Industrial Interests Threatened By Federal
 Control Legislation.

J, Hill of the Fourth district deliv- cred prophetic speech in the old Strat- ford Congregational church this evening upon ''The Industrial Future of New England. MT. Hill, who has been a progressive industrial leader in Fair field county, has thrown himself into his political duties with characterls- tic enthusiasm. As Connecticut's member of the ways ana means com mittee he has not been content to learn from committee hearings. His tour of investigation into prevailing conditions have taken him around the world. This has fitted him to speak with authority upon all matters fiscal and industrial.
 Congressman Hill speculated upon the future of New England from the point of its view of its ability to hold its industrial Supremacy of 1900. He said:
 Tt cannot be disputed that the gradual drift of manuracturing has been for the past five years towards the points of production of manufac- turing supplies. In 1880 the center of manufacturing in the United States was in Western Pennsylvania. In 1890 it was in Eastern Ohio. In 1900 in Central Ohio, and 1910 will undopbt- |edly find 1t in Eastern Indiana The filling up of the central West has giv- en to that section more population than is needed to till the ground and the proximity of iron and coal and lead and zinc and lumber and the ac- cumulated capital from its wonderful ly rich soil, all combine to, make those states successful competitors with the Atlantic States in manufactures in the future, as they have been in the past in Agriculture Furthermore, the Central West is not only in closer proximity to the sources of supply of raw material, but it is nearer to the market as we'll, indeed, 1t Is itself the |greatest part of the domestic market now, and the whole Mississippi Valley shows a greater growth than any oth- CT section of the country"
 In speaking of his part in the con gressional legislation which broadened the powers of the Interstate Com Imerce Commission, MT. Hill said: Two years ago a bill was reported in the House of Representatives to give to the Interstate Commerce Com mission, the power to arbitrarily pre- Iscribe rates of transportation on rail- roads engaged in interstate com merce. I believe then and I believe now that unless 1t ws- accompanied by radical action in other directions such legislation would ultimately be disastrous to New England manufac- turing interests, and I voted against it.
 This year it came up again some what modified in form, and voted for lit, knowing that it would surely pass and believing 1t wise to get 1t into the Supreme court as quickly as possible and thus secure a judicial determina- ton of what the power of congress, means, to regulate commerce among | the States
 Personally do not believe it cov- CTS the right to fix the price of trans lportation any more than 1t does to fix the price of the things transported. This Is the province of the State which creates, controls, protects and, if it chooses, can dissolve the corporation Even the General government which regulates and controls to the ut most detail its own creatures, the Ma l tional Banks, has never yet assumed ! to fix the rates at which notes should be discounted or exchange sold, al- though such rates vary from two ta twenty per cent. in different parts ot the country.
 But the law passed and the vital question with us in New England is how will it affect us, and if harmfully as I believe it will what can we dc to couteract it's bad effects for take 1 it that, however, altruistic we may be in principle, in practicS we propose in some legitimate and proper way tC protect our own interests.
 "Of one thing think we may rest assured, that government ownership or government regulation of railroads to the extent of prescribing rates, will Inevitably result in distance tariffs fol freights, as 1t has already begun to dc in passenger traffic. No man can give a reason why a railroad should be Icompelled by law to carry passenger at the rate of two cents for each mile travelled, and not have that reason hold equally good for a fixed rate pei ton per mile for each class of freigh transported. And this has been the result wherever government regula' ton has been tried. Indeed the prac, ltice of making rates based on 'wha
 the traffic will bear regardless of dls ltance, and making equal rates to com lpeting points at greatly differing
 cost of service, was the inspiring eaus,
 of the present law, and the politica power which could initiate such legis
 lation will certainly carry it to it Logical conclusion"
 | Congressman Hill has his own con Ivictions with regard to the effect thi
 new legislation will have upon Ney 1 England and what New England must do to achieve continued sue
 cess. He said: What effect will thi
 new government policy put in opera
 ton by the votes of the West an
 South have upon New England.
 list. It will promptly improve am
 ultimately restore farm values here t
 old time conditions and give back t
 our own people the home marke
 from which they have been driver
 by the cheaply transported grail from the Western prairies and tn
 cattle ranging on government Ian, ! Frg