Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1907-10-25
POLITICAL TREND.
TRANSPORTATION A GOVERN
MENTAL DEPARTMENT.

TRANSPORTATION A GOVERN
MENTAL DEPARTMENT.
The Work of Regulating Rates Has Become
Larger Than Commission Can Handle
Meeting of Officers Of the National Repub-
lican Com mittee-Its Organization Will Be
Effected When Congress Meets The Ma
val Outfitting Confronted by Increased
Cost of Foodstuffs The Royal" Yacht
Mayflower Has New Commander in Carl
Voslesans. Whose Name Waits an Odor Of
Limburser Japan Has Cornered the Tor
pedo Supply. and Uncle Sam Will Have
to Make His Own.
From our special Correspondent
WASHINGTON, ID. c., Oct. 10.
There is always talk of the estab-
lishment of new departments of the
Government, but it is Il rather differ
ent matter to get them actually eS-
tabllShed. 1t was a long time and
after much talk that the Department
of Commerce and Labor was added to
the Cabinet. There has been even
longer talk and much less in the way
of results in the effort to establish IL
Department of Public Health. But
an effort will be made this winter to
add another officer to the Cabinet in
the person of Il Secretary of Trans
portatiOn. Whether this will be ac-
complished it is difficult to say, but
the chances favor it. The work of
the Interstate Commerce Commission
has entirely outgrown the physical
powers of the commission to cope
with it even since the enlargement of
the commission itself last Winter.
1t may not be generally known out
side of Washington, but the Inter
state Commerce Commission is one
of the few and the only important
bureaus of the government that is in
dependent of any department. The
commission was established about tif-
teen years ago almost rs u sop to the
shippers of the country. Little was
expected of it and little was accom-
plished after the decision of the
courts that it had not the power to
enforce its rulings. But with the
development of the rate law, the en-
largement of the commission and the
increasing demand for the govern
ment supervision of transportation
the commission has increased in i'm
portance. 1t has had so much to do
in the line of special Investigations
ordered by Congress and the Presi-
dent that it has not been able to
keep up with what is supposed to be
its work of adjusting railway rates.
1t has had court trials. cases and
hearings all over the United States
and constantly increasing demands
on its services. Its failure to attend
to everything at once has tended to
discredit it with the general public.
If the work of the commission keeps
up as there is every indication it will,
there will be abundant employment
for a regularly organized department
and this in turn will be able to cope
with the transportation problem as
the commission would never be able
to do.
The first meeting of the head Off
GERS of the Republican National Com
mittce was held in Washington this
week. 1t was an informal meeting
of Harry S. New and Elmer Dover,
President and Secretary respectively
of the committee. They have select
cd headquarters for the committee in
one of the big Office buildings and
the prospect is that the committee
will be regularly organized about the
time that Congress gets together.
There are SO many Presidential pos
sibilities and near probabilities in
the field that any move of the com
mittee heads is naturally watched
with the keenest interest. President
Roosevelt is not only the nominal
but the very real head of the par
ty and there was some comment
that the work of the committee
should have been inaugurated while
he was away from Washington. But
both Dover and New are two of his
young men" and close personal
friends. They had a thorough un-
derstanding with him before he went
away and it is safe assumption that
whatever is done will be thoroughly
in accordance with the President
wishes. Some of the opponents of the
Taft candidancy are inclined to take
the preliminary action of the COM
mittee as slight upon his position
in the party councils, but this is not
the case and it is generally expected
that the committee will take action
for a Taft reception on his return
that will be striking testimonial to
the Secretary of War.
The Navy Department which is
busy Outfitting the battleShip squad
ron for its long trip to the Pacific
has been up against the problem of
increase in the price of fOOdstutfs.
There will be about 6, 6,O00, 600 pounds
of eatables and drinkableS needed by
the feet for the voyage. 1t is not
necessary to 60 into details as to just
what this immense store consists of,
though the principal item is fresh
meat. Buying in such immense guam
titles, the Navy Department is able
to get of course the very bottom
prices and the more SO that the fur
nishing of the supplies is a matter of
competition. But it has been found
that the general increase in price
has affected even these immense pur
chases. All the staple articles of
food and drink that have to be
bought are materially higher than
the department has ever had to pay
| for them before. Even on the meat
bought in such quantities there was
a general advance of cent q pound.
This indicates the general price situ
alton and shows why the householder
who buys in comparatively micro
scopic quantities, has to pay such a
heavy increase. The officers of the
fleet feel the added cost of Outtitting
| even more than the Government