Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1907-03-18
TO DETERMINE WHETHER IN
TERsTATE COMMERCE CAN
REGULATE RATES.
SPOkANEDEFENDANT
Cleveland mad Bryan Celebrate
Birthdays This Week land
Fraud cases-Redueed 70 Ranks.

Washington. March rs Several
members of the Interstate commerce
commission are In Chicago To-Day for
the purpose of holding a hearing on
tho Spokane rate case. undoubtedly
the most important and far reaching
in its effects Of any ever heard by
the body OF rate regulators. TIL"
final decision 0f the commission viii
affect all Of the greats transconu.
mental roads and. should It be In ia
vor Of Spokane. all the interior towns
of the West will benefit
The principal question involved ts
whether the Interstate commerce
commission Is authorized by the rate
law to reduce rates. no, alone on 4
single commodity. but on all com.
m0dities from the East n Spokane
and other cities OF the inland en-
pire IL involves the adjustment AM
regulation OF freight tariffs between
localities tn a broader sense than
ever before attempted BY the com
mission.
The municipal government and
chamber OF commerce Of Spokane are
the plaintiffs In the case. and the
Northern Pacific and Great Northern
railways are the defendants. The
Pacific Coast Jobbers' association.
composed OF wholesale merchants
and shippers OF the coast cities. has
interyened In the case In favor OF the
railroads, DECLARING that the rates
as now constituted are just and
should not be changed.
The reason for filing the Spokane
case arises from the fact that the
freight rates to that city from New
York, Chicago, Minneapolis and other
shipping centers Of the East and
middle West are higher than the
rates over the same roads to Seattle
and other Pacific coast cities. despite
the fact that the latter are some
300 miles farther west than Spokane,
At present Spokane pays the freight
rate to the Pacific seaboard. plus the
local freight rate back to Spokane
from the coast.
Both the Great Northern and the
Northern Pacific have filed answers
defending the present rates on the
novel ground that on the Pacific
coast they are compelled to meet
water competition, and in order to
do this are compelled to break
even" by holding up the railroad
towns. Stripped of its legal phrase
ology, this Is about what the answer
of the railroad attorneys amounts TO-
The jobbers of the coast are natural
ly defending the present rates, since
they benefit largely by the arrange
mCnt.
In addition to the session which
began today at Chicago, the comnis-
sion will hold another hearing on
April IS at Portland. Ore. Argu-
ments of the attorneys for the differ
ent interests represented in the case
will be held before the commission
in this city ON June 8. II Is likely
that not less than two weeks viii be
occupied in hearing the testimony
and arguments.
Cleveland and Bryan.
Ex-President Grover Cleveland ami
William Jennings Bryan, past and
nresent leaders of the Democracy,
will celebrate their birthdays this
week. the former today and the lat
ter tomorrow.
Mr.. Cleveland is 20 years old to-
day, having been born, in Caldwell.
n. J.. on March IS. 1887. Despite
the fact that he has reached the
extreme "chloroform limit" Of DIR,
Osler, the ex-president Is apparently
a. strong as ever. both mentally and
physically, probably due to his love
for rod and gun and open-air life.
More than % years have passed
since Mr. Cleveland was first inau-
gurated president, and it is notable
fact that not since President Fill
more has a chief executive of the
United States lived that long after
taking up his duties in the White
House. OF all recent presidents,