The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1908-12-12
BOTTLE YOUR INTERSTATE
COMMERCE COMMISSION

init US to hold the business that Is
going to the other fellow.
"Unless you do, your Pacific COM
merce will soon become q memory.
You people on the coast win get no
Hye transcontinental railways"
James ]. Hill, oracle of the rails,
mouthpfece of the barons Of the
steel ribbed commercial highways,
of whom 1t Is said ''he annexed
more territory with a coupling pin
than Julius Caesar did with a
sword" has delivered an ultimatum
to the American people.
It is short. crisp, clothed with
the finality which distinguishes all
that "Jim" Hill says, and is not
unlike the startling warning of Har-
fiman delivered at the recent
Trans-Mississippi congress in San
Francisco.
Hill, In the presence of an inter.
viewer is shrewd, a careful chooser
of words. Yet he talks straight
from the shoulder.
His remarkable ultimatum came,
like the crack of whip at the very
close of a remarkable statement,
secured by representative of The
Press while Hill was In Seattle on
a hurried business trip
1t is a rea! live question:" Hill
began, whether it would not be
advisable for the Great Northern
railroad to make its terminal at
Vancouver, r c., rather than on
the American side, in view of the
adverse ruling of the interstate
commerce commission respecting
the advance publication of the rates
Tor railway haulage Of export bust
ness, as well as in view of the I'M
satisfactory character of the United
States navigation laws.
what l say regarding our own
steamships applies to other Ameri-
can vessels engaged in the oriental
trade. The present handicap. from
1.-THE two causes have mentioned, Is
ltoo great for us to compete on even
terms with our rivals"
There was a tinge of sarcasm in
hhe next words.
"The British vessels carry their
own flag Ours carry the Japanese
or any other we can get that will
carry our exports at reasonable
rates. Once in while we, in the
United States. build vessel, but
the fact is we have all but forgot
ten what 1t Is to own ship"
Hill paused a moment, then:
81 would like to. wipe out all the
customs houses between the United
States and Canada" he declared
emphatically. II think 1t would be
for the welfare of the people of
both countries. 1t would certainly
be advantageous. There is no more
reason for these trade barriers be-
tween Canada and the United
States than there would be for tar
dff walls between the states of the
union.
'Under present conditions l do
not know Of any place in this coun-
try east of Chicago and north of
the Ohio river where railroad
could be built that would pay one
per cent on the investment.
"The Milwaukee & st. Paul is
To
glad they are here. But when that
enterprise Is finished / do not
know, north of the Platte river,
where there Is room for another
railroad. or reason for one.
"All the riches of the world come
from four sources; the sea, the
farm, the forest and the mine. Be-
yond all is the fertility of the soil.
Our crop last year was worth more
than the combined trade OF
Europe.
Next to the cultivation of the
soil itself. in the amount of money
invested and in the Importance to
the people, is the railway property
of the country. 1t is on a different
basis, because of the attitude of the
people. fro many other property.
when you have invested your
money In railway you have un-
dertaken an obligation to serve the
public: you have taken business
risk that Is greater than the risk
of any other business In the world.
II you do not move your trains reg
ularly so as to accommodate the
business the courts win appoint a
receiver and will issue receivers
certificates to an extent that will
wipe out your business.
81 mention this to show that
there is nothing guaranteed. Some
times you are told what appliances
to use and what not to use; whom
you. can hire and when you can
discharge him, and 1t has been at
least limited what you should pay
him.
"The only privilege that Is left IS
for the railroad to pay the bills.
Remember, you can not injure
.s..,. a..