The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1907-07-18
Kansas CITY. Mo-. july 10. 1907.

sue of a Reporter observed, that you,
in discussing the workings of the two
cent fare advised your readers, when
patrons of the Leon and st. Joe branch
of the 90, that in order to get ahead of
the railroad on the matter of the inter-
state rates, to buy ticket from Leon
to Togo then pay three cents from Togo
across the state line to Andover, then
to pay two cents mile from there to
St. Joe.
Permit me to criticize that sugges-
ton. Those who know you and have
known you for the past twenty-five
years and who have worked with you
for the interests of the common people,
at first glance at your article would say
that your suggestions were about right
and that the railroads were really rob.
bling the people by trying to charge
them three cents mile on an inter-
state trip in two cent states, but
careful second thought one will see
that possibly you have made mistake.
You will remember Brother Hull, that
you and have been preaching one
common doctrine for the past quarter
of a century in our endeavor to put all
travellers and shippers on an equal foot
ing, advocating that there should be
no rebates, and no discrimination and
no favors. The custom of certain
insiders" to secure for themselves and
their friends, passes, half fare tickets,
rebates on freight, ETC., has been things
that caused discomfort among the
travelling public and the small
shippers, and so great has become
of both parties took up the question,
nd
burn, drafted that bill which bears his
it should have been and not as strong
a law as Colonel Hepburn intended
when he drafted the bill lowing to
amendments tackled on by the Senate) it
is expected that this Hepburn law will
do much towards causing all the patrons
OF the railroads to be put on that equal
ity that you and have prayed for.
l, at one time, was in the coal business
and then found that while and my CO.
operators in the north Missouri coal
fields were paying three cents per
mile for our sales agents, that the rep
reSentatives of other fields were riding
on free mileage books or ANNALS,
thereby enabling them to sell coal at a
less rate than our companies, and when
it came to figuring on large contracts in
Omaha, st. Joe, Kansas City or else
where, we found that Smoky Hollow"
Sunshine Hill Cherokee" "Choctaw"
or some other place had an inside"
rate which enabled them to get the
business; that is, could bid exactly
what it cost our company to put the
coal on the cars, plus the freight, and
the other fellow cut one cent ton
uuder that price, and make a profit,
owing to his being favored in the
& matter of rates. AS for example there
was rate Of eighty cents per ton on
coal from certain Iowa, Missouri and
Kansas fields, to Kansas City. Some
roads hauling coal from Kansas would
absorb the switching charge of from
So to So dollars a car represented a
good profit to the other operators, and
yon can readily see who got the bust
ness. | on account Of such discrimina-
tion, became hearty supporter of the
Hepburn bill, which when it became
law was supposed and intended to cut
out all favorites and give every citizen an
equal show and whatsoever should
violate any Of the provisions of that law
should be subjected to heavy penalties.
The Hepburn bill, or as some call it
the peoples Bill" in one place provides
that it shall be unlawful for any
person to accept transportation for
himself or freight on Interstate trip
for less than the regular published
tariff, and if any should violate that
section he is liable to fine of $1,000.
Congress has also provided that all
interstate tariff or rate shall be fair as
between places regardless of the fact
that by one road it is a greater dis
tance that by another, and that all
rates shall be filed in Washington with
the Interstate Commerce Commission,
and approved by them, and that after
thirty days may go into effect and shall
not be changed until new rate is
fled with the commission for thirty
days and is approved. The object of
that provision was to prevent a road
making rate on one days notice and
permit some favored shipper to ship
under it and then the next day raise
the rate so the public could not get the
benefit of the reductions. If rate is
reduced now, every body has thirty
days notice of it. The Hepburn bill
forbids passes or half fare tickets, ex-
cept certain officers and employees of
the railroads SO far as interstate trips
are concerned. Some roads in Kansas
give passes to politicians and stamp
across the pass provision that the
same shall not be used in any part OF
an interstate trip. The politician
starts for Kansas City and when he
gets to the west side, gets off the train
and walks across the state line or takes
astreet car. By so doing he imagines he
is beating the very law he wanted enact
ed and when an Inspector of the Inter
state Commerce Commission gets after
him he will be up against Thousand dol
lar fine for using pass on an Interstate
trip. Their passes are no more and
no less than rebate and it is just as
much a crime to use them to the state
line and then walk across into the
other state as it is for the railroads to
pay the Oil trust and Meat trust exhor-
bitant prices for use of their private
cars, refrigerators and oil tanks. The
recent Standard Oil trial in Chicago
was just such case. The companys
using some subterfuge to beat the
interstate commerce.
Now brother Hull, carefully consider
the words of that Hepburn bill and would
A. I@o kh~A L.