Omaha daily bee., 1907-08-20
Alleged Discrimination Against
Omaha Firms Looked Into.
PRAISES WORK OF COMMISSION
System of Filing Tariffs Excites Won.
der and Admiration.
WILL ATTEND CHICAGO MEETING
Conference VIII Adjust Rates on
Grain from Missouri River
Points 10 the windy
city.
CFrom a stan correspondent


WASHINGTON, Aug, 19.-(Special)-E
J. Mcvann, secretary OF the Omaha Grain
exchange. who has been spending his va
cation in the vicinity OF Washington during
the last two weeks is now in Chicago at
tending meeting OF railroad lines look
ing to a readjustment OF Missouri river
rates on grain to Chicago. st. Louis and
other points. This meeting was arranged
for, before Mr.. McVann left Omaha on his
vacation. the Chicago and Missouri river
railroads having agreed to such meeting
at the instance of the boards of trade and
grain exchanges OF Omaha, Chicago. Kan
sas City and ST. Louis.
While in Washington Mr.. McVann took
advantage OF his vacation to look up mat
ters for Omaha jobbers in connection with
some instances OF freight rate dsscrimina-
tion as against Omaha. This brought him In
direct contact with the officers of the In
terstate Commerce commission and his
treatment by that commission gave Mr..
McVann an opportunity to say something
about its workings. He spoke in enthusi-
astic terms of the comprehensive manner
ir which the files are kept. lie said that
the system adopted enables one to go
back as far as necessary for any purpose
and the wonder to him was how they
could secure in such limited space files
that must necessarily he of great import-
ance to the litigation of the future.
Needs Building of Its own.
II was Mr.. McVsnn's opinion that the In
terstate Commerce commission should be
provided for with a building OF its own
where the files might be kept in larger
quarters and where the commission itself
might have greater facilities in which TO
do its growing business under the amended
interstate commerce act.
Mr.. McVann spoke enthusiastically Of
Secretary Moseley, whom he denominated
"The ingerboard of the Interstate Com
merce commission"
In this connection il is interesting to
know that Secretary Moseley has been as
sociated with the Interstate Commerce
commission since its beginning. For years
II was his business to make disposal Of
every case but In recent years Il has been
impossible TO give more than general super
vision to the work OF the commission.
There are now employed in the work or,
the Interstate Commerce commission $50
men whose duty II is to look after tariffs
and compile matter in relation to the rail-
roads and the shippers.
Conference Land Matters.
S. w. Clark, attorney general of South
Dakota. has been for several days con-
ferring with officials of the forest service
about questions affecting the disposition
of school and other state lands in the
national forest reserves Attorney General
Clark says plans recently suggested by
Forester Pinchot for the settlement Of
this states land question will be welcomed
in his state. and he suggests an early meet
ing of the land and the legal officers OF
western states with officials OF the ma
tional government to work out in detail the
necessary legislation to be submitted 70
congress at the next session.
G. l.. Wood. cashier Of the Security bank
of Ponca Neb., with his wife and daugh-
ter, passed through Washington today en-
route to the jamestown exposition.