Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1907-07-11
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From Our Regular Correspor dent.

"o"t"A SVtiCepuEututs
With the presentation of the in
structions OF the various coun.
tries at the Hague, it begins to
be seen that the principal work
OF the present session of thecon
ference is likely to be arbitration.
The proposals of the American
delegates have not yet been all
submitted, but it is known that
they left the State Department
with this policy strongly impress
ed upon them. Thisgovernment
knew as well as the Others that
there was not anything practi-
cal to be accomplished this year
IN the reduction of armaments,
and it decided that next to redu-
ding armaments the best thing
was to get the nations to agree
to refrain from using them so far
as possible. Thus arbitration is
likely to assume the chief placei in
the deliberations of the confer
ence with this country taking the
lead. 1t is thought that some
thing more practical than t h e
old arbitration treaty can be
framed and if it is there is little
doubt that the countries repre-
sented will all sign it. This is cer-
tainly q step in the right direc-
ton: A man may insist on his lib
erty to carry a gun, bat if he can
be trained not to pull it, thepub-
lie peace is just as well conserved.
And eventually. he may get in
the habit OF leaving his gun at
home.
Formal complaint was fl lie d
with the Interstate Commerce
commission this week against the
so-called shipping trust. T mis-
trust consists of the Hamburg
American, the North German
Lloyd, the. Wilson Line, and the
Scandanavaian-A American in e.
The companies grew originally
out ofthe arrangement thatthese
companies were alleged to have
made with the American rail
roads for pooling their immi-
grant traffic. 1t was charged that
the steamship companies, that is
to say the Hamburg American
line (for that was the dominant
factor in the trust) routed the
immigrants as it chose from the
point of embarcation to the point
OF destination and that the traf-
fic was divided up between the
railroads without regard to ocom-
petition in this country and with
little regard even to the wishes OF
the immigrants. This was rather
bad, but though the Immigrant
was many in the aggregate, he
had few friends Individually. Be-
side that there was no law in the
United States against pooling
passenger traffic. But there is a
very stringent law against the
pooling of freight, and1 it is now
charged that the Hamburg.A-i i
merican line extended itsjurisdic-
ton to the freight of this coun-
try both going and coming. \
manufacturer here if he wanted
to reach a foreign market, had
to route his freight as the pool
dictated or he was crushed imme-
diately. 1t is pointed out in the
complaint that it is rather hard
for a company owned and con-
trolled abroad to have the entire
say as to how freight shall be
carried even on the land lines in
the United States. 1t will make q
long, toilsome inquiry tolook in
to the matter, but it is assuredly
coming.
Almost everything is put up to
the Interstate Commerce Com
mission these days, and the la
test complaint that has be en-
made is by the banks against the
express companies. There are
less than a dozen express com
panies and there are 7,500banks
represented in the complaint.