The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-01-02

| rate. to be unreasonable before it makes
/ reasonable rate for the future il
should not be required to ad5udge the
old rate unreasonable because it comes
| very close to the danger line of invalid
ty as announced in the old court of vist-
tation decision by this union of judicial
| and legislative power in one body
My amendment eliminates the judicial
finding while leaving full power to the
board to make reasonable rate for the
| future. This section is now strenuously
| attacked by the railroads in suits now
pending and if this section should be
| knocked out by the courts, the board
| power for two years. / think it well to
remove this doubt so that there can be
| no question as to the rate making power
of the commission.
No Jol1ers or Loopholes.
| There is no doubt as to the passage
| of an anti-pass law, and it should be
| made to say what it purports to say
without jokers or loop holes. The pur-
pose of the anti-pass law is to prevent
| determinations between different per-
sons or classes of persons and that
should be the test of the law. If the
railroad company is permitted to give
passes to employees. it should. be con-
nned to employees exclusively employed
by the company. In other words the
company should not have the power
by appointing a multitude of nominaf
attorneys in the different county seats
with pass privilege to confer the dis
elimination upon this class. If an at
torney is exclusively employed by the
company. all right but he should not
be permitted to travel up and down the
road upon his own business or for his
clients, or upon political business, If
you please, upon free transportation
when others have to pay fare. The
newspapers should be placed upon
cash basis so that the relations be-
tween the newspapers and the rail-
roads are the same as they are be-
tween the newspapers and all other
advertisers.
Must Cut Passenger Fares.
AS a result of this measure of course
railroad fares should be. reduced, to
just what extent will be a matter of
close calculation and reasonable judg-
ment. The freight rates recognize the
difference between short and a long
haul because of terminal charge, /. e.
the loading and unloading, making out
of the freight bill. accounting and
auditing are just the same on ten
mile haul that they are on a five hun
dred mile haul. I am inclined to think
that In a state as sparcely settled as
Kansas, some such distinction should
be made. 1t costs a railroad company
just as much to sell ticket from To-
peka to Pauline, print the ticket, hire
the station agent and audit the re-
ceipts as it does to sell a ticket from
Topeka to Coolidge. My own notion
of the thing is to provide for a thou
SduQ mile TICKET 1nIorCnanReaD over
all roads in Kansas and good In the
hands of any holder; that is an alb
solute contract upon the part of all the
railroads of Kansas in consideration of
$50 to give to the holder of that con-
tract transportation up to one thou
sand miles. I believe this would stand
the test of the courts, and would prac-
tically amount to two cents a mile. at
the same time recognizing the fixed
limit of the terminal charge. Doubt
1nC fho roll xrviTI
uously to this. or any other reduction
In the present rates, but the thing
for the legislature to do is to consid-
er what it can do within constitutional
limits, what will be a fair reduction of
the present rates, what 1t can do and
make good.
Revise Railroad Assessment Bill.
These are some of the things in the
way OF railroad legislation that in my
Judgment the legislature should do
this winter The matter of railroad
assessment is a serious one. The bill
which l prepared four years ago COW
ers this matter absolutely because 1t
provides for the assessment, of rail-
road. property and all other property
by the same body. 1t might be we'll
to take that bill out of the trash hea n
of that legislature and look it over I
believe 1t covers the question. I al
Jude to the bill prepared by the state
tax commission of 1903
Give the Board Rate Clerk.
Inc members OF the state board of
railroad commissioners should be re-
quired by law to give their whole time
to their duty just as the board of con-
troll now Is. In other words, they
should keep busy three hundred and
sixty-five days in the year less holt
days. If they need a rate clerk one
should be. provided with salary big
enough to get first class expert. and
not some chump that has been kicked
out of railroad office for incompe-
tence- The state may as well under
stand that it can not hire $4,000
man for $1,000. and cheap rate clerk
would be worse than nothing.
Jolt for the ''Stand Patters."
I have also in mind a concurrent
resolution by the senate and house
instructing our senators and request
ing our members of the house of rep
resentatives to work and vote for the |
lumber and a reduction of the tariff |
on steel and iron and their products
Every man with any sense knows that |
the lumber trust exists today and its |
actions are largely dependent upon |
the prohibitive tariff on lumber. Every |
man of any sense knows that the ex~ |
orbitant prices that the Kansas con-
sumers pay for iron and steel and |
their products in various forms are |
due to the excessive. unjust and ex- |
tariff upon steel and iron that |
has built up and is maintaining one of |
the most odious monopolies in the |
world.
I would like to. jar our delegation |
loose from Mr.. Cannon and the stand /
patters'' this subject
More Instructions for Congress.
shall also introduce a concurrent /
resolution instructing our senators and |
requesting our representatives In con-
gress to vote for a bill that shall give /
the president power to make reciprocal /
trade agreements with foreign coun- /
tries that will tend to remove the re- |
strictions upon the sale abroad of our |
beef, pork and other food products so |
as to extend the farmers market, these
agreements to take effect without fur |
Their action by congress.
When the Dingley bill was passed |
L. hnr nf If adrraitted lac |