The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1908-10-02

. ". "|H "'H 1917 -I'" fN Wv
f"r sos sRs cess 'Fts
ftHt s Hs 10 80 sftt srn "art
RH AZ" @sH'Ht
"" - .
fva lee tf.l-irt pa e sata rs8a pa
t@s ~ssa W rf ~t o. see uarfaIf lei
aua u l.s s . 2 f ss
ute t.sss -Hs tt,s fn4 % ssttsfseas
fssN.af s-ssHts
rec H~hitHoAo pArs IivIaAvieA
rtr insatft- o,vv tts NssH fyssa,
Hate i4sps q iti srt 1877 49, 49, w.
cant rasstrsrf tatr tav - 1851 eh ,hs
.irhie-, % "fvsis - trr Hsats. tss tssB
a w4fn |sttatrf aH1 nsHfc t~at-ut.Is urtff
z tntifr Urt iu ta.t Nas been fh~ tarsrsi
ans mHst a.n'cut riroo - Legislation tH
the HISTORY ~ ire State tt has been ur
c4.Afy fot thc attorneys tof thc State &C.,
tuls acIaHirt themselves Nlth The mr'hs
odH hrd uNftefn - faiifv.fi construction
aAd operation. tho m,tha,i m which me
railroad rates arc nNed and est,ilivhri
{ tho methods a.d details " railroad 40
counting IN short With every phase ~
tho railroad business from tho standpoint
NJ operation as we'll na frpm the stand
point ~ litigation. The expense 90 expert
Z accountants Who have arrUt mouths in tho
examination AZ, thc books ard accounts ~
the railroad companies, has been cousld
I reuhly. but believe II has been money
well spent This work has enabled the
people of Missouri as well rs the people
~ other states. for the nrst time. TO
know tho truth ns 20 the teasouuhlencsS
Of railroad freight aud passenger rates
1t has disclosed to the people Of this state
the cuormou tribute that they have by
%inac;'ou permitted the railroads To levy
upon them Tor years.
Ii has shown. for Instance. that the Bur
linFton Railroad Company makes n net
profit of s.. 900 each year for every mile
OF road that II has In the state of Mis-
souri,. while II makes an average OF $4,000
a year for each mile on its entire system.
that though It has but II per cent Of It's
mileage In the state OF Missouri. that II
per cent produces over % per cent of It's
income. While this condition may not cN-
list in the case OF all the roads Of the
State. 1t is probable that every road In
the state receives a much larger revenue
for every ton Of freight that IL hauls one
mile in the state than II receives for
every ton OF freight that Il hauls one mile
also shown that the people OF Missouri
pay the railroad companies freight rates
from 20 to So per cent higher than do
their neighbors OF Iowa and Illinois. For
instance, the Missouri farmer has to pay
SEQ to have a carload of wheat hauled 100
miles to market, while in Iowa and lll-
nois II costs the farmers OF those States
but $40 for the same car the same dis
lance; while the stock raisers In Missouri
have to pay the railroads $24 n car TO
have their cattle hauled 100 miles to the
s~tockyards at Kansas City. st. Louis and
-. Joseph. In Illinois the farmers OF that
State can have their stock carried to the
Chicago ~stockyards, the same distance,
for $50 a car; that in Missouri the rail
roads charge the farmer and implement
dealer 1874 to have a carload OF agricul-
tural implements hauled 100 miles, while
In Iowa 1t would cost for the same car,
the same distance, SIS; that while 4,
would cost the Missouri householder, ac-
cording to the rates established in this
| Stafn tgp IN get q rnr nf lIvphnr hot t1ad q
distance Of 100 miles. it would cost the
Iowa home-builder SIS for the same cal
the same distance. A similar condition
exists in the freight rates in Missouri and
the freight rates in Illinois and Iowa upor
other commodities and for other distances
These facts and many others important e
the people Of Missouri, nave been devel.
oped In the course of this litigation. The
testimony In these cases has finally beer
completed and Is now ready to be submit.
ted to the decision Of the United State.
Circuit Court. / cannot but view with
confidence the final result Of this litigation
But In this litigation, as In the anti
trust litigation already referred to, sub.
%stantial results have already been secured
The facts developed as to the value Of
railroad properties enabled the Stat,
assessments last year over SO. 900. 900
thus adding s175 900 to the States reve.
nues each year.
THE Two.cENT FARE FIGHT.
Further, Governor Folk in his st. JOSEPH
speech in his present campaign for tn,
United States Senatorship said, in speak
ing Of this litigation:
"A great deal OF testimony was taker
to determine the fairness of these rates
and as a result OF these Investigations int
the conclusion was arrived at, both b.
myself and the General Assembly, tina
passenger rates could be materially re
duced without doing any injustice to tn,
corporations. Believing that the passenge
business Of the railroads justified It, / rec
commended the reduction of the passenge
rate from three cents to two cents a mile.
With the enactment Of the two-cen
passenger. rate law in 1907. the railroads
announced that they proposed to enjoin Il
enforcement in the Federal Court. as the.
had two years before enjoined the en-
forcement Of the freight rate law Of 1906
They also announced that they PROPOSED
to make Missouri the battle-ground II
their contest against the two-cent fare.
had learned something in the two years O
litigation I had had with the railroad com
panies as to their methods of legal war
fare. and I decided to use the same meth
DDS In fighting them that they had use,
in fighting the people Of Missouri. I de
cidcd not to let them select both the form
and the forum Of litigation, and on tn
day that they announced that they woul,
ask for an injunction in the United State
Court to restrain me from enforcing tn
two-cent fare law against them, ! wen
J into the State courts and asked for an In
junction enjoining the railroad c0mpanie
from disobeying this law; and I went int
the State courts a few hours earlier thai
the railroads went into the Federal court
Judge Matt w Reynolds Of st. Louis, an,
Judge John G. Park Of Kansas City. issue,
the inJunctions I asked for against tn
railroad companies. and the railroads the
Z prepared their papers for an application
to have me ~adJudged guilty of contemp
of the United States Circuit Court. Thi
question was argued on the 9Th day O
June. 1907. before Judge Mcpherson Of tn
United States Circuit Court at Kansa
! City, but before the decision was rend
cred the railroads weakened in their fight
abandoned their plan to have me adjudge,
guilty OF contempt and agreed to put int,
effect. for ninety days. the two-cent far
as ar experiment. The result Of the ex
pertinent was an increase in earnings 10
the railroad companies until the bushes
| depression last winter affected unfayor
ably the railroad business along with al
other lines Of industry. The railroads hav
.. recently e~ndeavored again to secure
I temporary injunction against the two-cen
, passenger rate law, but their application
: was denied by the United States Circui
f0INe a~1