The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-04-18
WASHINGTON
From our Regular Correspondent.

Washington, D. c. Aprilra, 1907.
Cover nment control Of the rail
roads which will be quite as effect
i've and much cheaper than owner
ship, is what the Interstate COM
merce Commission is now aiming
at and what it quite possibly will
achieve. The crux of the matter
is in the appointment of accounting
officers who shall be sworn officers
Of the government though carried
on the railroad payrolls. If this
scheme in the general system of
railroad accounting works out, it
will be much as though the meat
inspectors of the Department of
Agriculture were paid by the pack
ers instead of being paid out of a
government appropriation. Here
tofore one of the most prolific
sources of frauds and practical re-
batting has been in the claims de-
partments of the railroads which
were able to favor certain shippers
and allow claims tor damages which
were in effect nothing but rebates.
Now these claims have been taken
entirely ont OF the hands of the
operating officers and put under the
accounting division. These officers,
after the first of next July, will be
rquired to make sworn monthly
statements to the Interstate Com
merce Commission and unless they
violate their oaths, which is not
considered likely, these reports
will show exactly the state of the
railroad earnings and expenditures.
The system of all the roads will be
the same and sharp line will be
drawn between legitimate opera
ting expenses, SO called damage
claims and the expenditures Of leas
es, betterments and extensions.
The reports are designed to show,
and it is believed will show, exact
ly what a road is earning, what it
is expending and how. Auvone
who reads the reports will see just
how much money the road is earn
ing and what it is doing with it.
A road will not be able to earn 2
per cent and pay 4 per cent divi-
dend and ever up the surplus in
''leases" of short lines owned by
its own officers and similar subter-
fuges. How we'll this system of
open book keeping will work or
whether the officials OF some of the
roads will discover methods of beat
ing it, can be determined only after
fair trial.
XIX
1t will be the middle OF the com.
ing winter before Mr.. Hartman
can be compelled to answer the
questions that were put to him by
the Interstate Commerce Commiss-
ION during the New York hearing.
The Commission decided only last
week to appeal to the circuit court
Of New York for rule to compel
him to answer. The questions
were objected to by Mr.. Hartman
and his counsel on the ground that
they were prying into his private
affairs. They related to the amount
Of money he made personally out
of the Alton and the Southern Pa
cifc railroad deals. They were
rather personal questions, but if he
can be compelled to answer them,
it will probably show that Mr.. Har-
man, like Richard Croker was
working for his own pocket all
the time" If this can be clearly
brought out, it will show Mr.. Har-
riman's business associates that
they as we'll as the innocent public
were badly done in these transac-
tions, aud it will tend to limit Mr.
Harriman's activities as promoter
in the near future very much in.
deed.
**#
President Roosevelt in talking to
some of his friends this week took
occasion to explain his position re-
garding the presidential nomina-
tion. 1t has been said that the
President was backing the nomina-
tion aspirations of Secretary Taft
and of no one else. But the Presi.
dent says that this is not true.
The way he put it was that he was
for any nominee who was not tied