Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-12-23
CATTLE MEN PUSH FIGHT
Some Restraint Needed on Railroads
that Raise Rates.
LAWYER CowAE AT WASHINGTON
Great Flood of New Bills Has Been
Introduced I'm House of Repre-
sentatives---Penaion Tor
Nebraakana.
CFrOm a staf Correspondent,

sure better conditions than exist today To
this end they are urging legislation which
will affect every shipper in the country.
Their attorney. Judge ]. II. Cowsn Of Fort
Worth speaking on this subject today.
said:
There can be no doubt that fair play de-
mands that the act to regulate commerce
should be so amended that a railroad rate.
made by the railroads and which has been
in effect for two years or more. shall not
be advanced except with the consent OF the
Interstate Commerce commission. after
anording opportunity to interested parties
to be heard, and that the commission be
given the power to prescribe the amount
OF the advance II It finds that some ad-
vance less than that proposed would be
reasonable. In no other wsy can the
public have the real benefit of that pre-
sumption which the courts and the COM
mission have repeatedly affirmed. that a
rate fixed by the carriers and remaining
long in effect is presumably high enough.
The shipper must complain and a hearing
must be had before he can get rate re-
duced. Why should not the carriers be sub
Ject to the same rule before they advance
long standing rate?
The country is divided into traffic dis
tricts in which the railroad traffic men
fiN and change the rates. with the object,
of course, TO make more money, and It is
certain that they will be able to make
more advances than the shippers will ever
get reductions, because in most instances
the shippers cannot AFFORD to enter the
unequal contest. so the net Of it will be
just what has happened for the past ten
years constant average increase in actual
rates. The reduction. where it happens. of
ton mile aar rnfr fadg
that depends on the character OF tonnage
and length of the haul.
People Paying More.
Since the enactment Of the Henb,,rn
bill the receipts of the railroads in gross
and in net earnings and in the average re-
ceived for the units of trafic all show
that the people pay more per unit of traffic
than they did before. besides the vast in
crease in earnings from abolishing free SER
vice and rebates. The reduction made by
the Interstate Commerce commission have
been Insignificant compared TO the net ad-
vantages OF the law and advances made
by roads.
The claim that there should be no
further regulation because the railroads
Ehaye suffered from regulations is without
foundation in fact. Oficials may have suf-
fered Efhe loss Of opportunity which before
AlNSt laws were enacted were quite freelX
INDUCED, but the railroad corporations as
such have not suffered in the aggregate
any loss. The railroads are not worth
less money, but are worth more money. and
this all of the officials are constantly
swearing to before the Interstate Com
merce commission in hearings on rate cases
II the price of stocks and bonds have fallen
II is not due to reduced earnings. but to
| some other. cause; neither is It due to a
reduced value of the property. Why
should the law or the people be charged
with reducing these stocks and bonds so
that the amount they are sold for will
now net or per cent return, or be
credited with having advanced them to the
price Of year ago when they sold at ig-
ures which would bring a return of about
3 Per cent? Neither the law nor the people
control II. and they have neither destroyed
the value of the property nor have they
injured it or the right to have a reason
able return thereon"
Flood of Bills in House.
Although the house of representatives has
been in actual session only about three days
since congress assembled the members sue
ceeded in introducing not less than 1900
bills, before the holiday recess. The pro-
cess Of starting an idea on the road towards
the statutes at large is simple one these
days All that is necessary is TO take a
copy OF the bill, which failed of considera-
tion I'm previous congress, scratch out the
number of that congress insert i'm lieu
thereof ''Shtieth congress, first session
and add the name of the member. Then
throw the document into receptacle and
the bill is introduced"
So easy is this method as compared with
the old way that many members simply
1r.ll
themselves or their predecessors secure
copies and throw them in without looking
into the provisions which they father For
the last three weeks the compositors in the
bill room" Of the government printing
ONCE have been working day and night
yet IN spite Of the vigorous and constant
work of the entire force less than third
Of the bills have been printed. II would
perhaps be as well il some plan could be
perfected for editing bills before printing
them. Such a plan would certainly maIss
for economy as It frequently happens that
half a dozen members introduce identicaily
the same measures and what is worse
scores OF such measures have been offered
this session which are already on the stat
ute books laws.
Copyright on Canned Music.
ol all legislation pending before congress
the bill attracting probably the most atten-
ton Is the copyright bill. introduced in the
house by Mr.. Currier and in the senate by
Mr., Smoot. These two bills are practically
Identical except that the senate bill is a
little more explicit with reference TO the
use OF mechanical or automatic musical
Instruments. This element OF the question
has been the subject OF the strongest possi-
bic night Last winter the committees held
joint hearings in the congressional library.
These hearings attracted great interest and
speedily developed into a struggle for su-
premaey between the music composers and
publishers on the one side and the manu-
facturers OF musical instruments on the
other. Specialists from all over the eoun-
try were brought here by both sides and
the array Of legal talent was very able and
brilliant The manufacturers seem to have
won. Both Of the pending bills. expressly
eliminate the perforated paper roll ana
similar mechanical devices from the realm
OF copyright
New Allotment OF Rooms.
Fifty years ago. ON December Is the
house Of representatives moved into its
present quarters in the nations capitoI
At that time there was great complaint
over the dampness Of the building ana the
a lives Of fha cor.rfr,r -