Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1907-03-05
THE RAILROAD BILLS
RECEIVED AN IMPETUS
Their Advocates Now Express Confidence In
Their Early Passage
The Turn Came After the Railway Commission
Bill Had Been Laid On the Table and the Freight
Bill Seemed Doomed.

The lower house of the legislature
yesterday morning engaged in acrobat
les. This stunt occurred in the con-
sideration OF the anti-railrOad relgisla-
tiOn. Bells railway commission bill
was before the committee Of the whole
house and twelve of the nine members
present expressed an uLwillInguess to
take part in any legislation which
would be utterly futile if not foolish
ness and which would bring the house
into disrepute among persons of or
dinary intelligence. The committee re-
commended by the following vote that
the bill lie on the table:
Ayes. Burke. Davidson. Day. Gro
setta. Hampton. Hull, Krook. Martin.
Morgan Of Pima, Murphy, Slaughter.
the speaker.
Nays Bell. Bunch, Coleman. Cren-
shaw. Mccormick. Pace. Wallace.
Whitesides and Williams. When the
committee rose the bill was put on the
table in the spot indicated by the COM
mittee.
A little further along Crenshaw's bill
fixing the maximum freight rate at
seven and a hall cents per ton mile
/
committee of the whole over it. There
was a disposition To send it along the
course taken by the railway commits
/ sion bill. Several speeches We're made
on it. The author Mr.. Crenshaw open
l ed his by an avowal that the business
I Of adjusting freight rates was a very
complicated one and that he knew
nothing more about it than he had
| learned recently. that a flat rate could
/ not be made TO apply to all classes of
/ freight. In the absence Of any know
ledge whatever on the subject he had
! prepared the pending bill in order that
| the railroad companies might be held
l within the maximum and under that
they might discriminate among classes
as much as they pleased.
Thus the facts concerning the con-
! option and birth OF this most remarka-
bic measure were disclosed.
Mr.. Hampton offered the same OBJ
. lection TO the freight rate bill that he
/ mad offered 10 the railway commission
| bill, the futility if not the invalidity of
/ iy. Neither did he believe that it would
/ be eXpedient. He believed ;hat the bill
would result in the charging in the
D aggregate or heavier TrrlEnlS tnau the
people now pay for ne understood that
there We're very few IL any commodities
on which even So much as the propOs-
ed maximum was charged. On most
/ commodities the rate was already far
[ below the maximum.
The class Of articles on which more
, than the maximum was charged could
stand it. For instance. there was the
item Of millinery on which freight
rates are the highest but a single ar
ticle Of no weight, say an ostrich plume
is sold for several dollars. The cost
Of freight on that article whatever the
rate charged. is not to be considered.
On the other hand there are OtheI
commodities. such as mining timbsrs
and machinery and fuel. to say nothing
OF ore on which the rate is very low
otherwise many mines. especially the
smaller ones in the srase or develop
ment would have to suspend. For thest
reasons. said Nd. Hampton. if the bill
We're not futile and If there was n pos
sibility that II would be upheld by the
courts. he would oppose il.