Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-05-15
WHITE MAKES REPLY
Story County Representative
Comes Back at Iowa Rail-
road Commission
BOARD SHOULD BE MORE ACTIVE
Credit Commission With Doing Some
Good Work But Sees Room for I'm
provement-Points Out That Funds
Arc Provided for Purposes of lnves-
tisation.

tisation.
Special to es-Republican.
Nevada, May 15.-Representative
George c. White of this county, has
come back at the state railroad COM
mission and N. T. Guernsey in reply
to their answer to his initial criticism
Of the board.
He based his original criticism Of the
board on the allegation that it had not
undertaken to make a fight for the in
terests of the shippers of the state in
their contest with the railroads, par
ticularly charging that the board was
lax in not proceeding before the inter-
state commerce commission as repre-
which have gone before that body. He
alluded in this connection, to the case
brought by the Des Moines shippers
recently.
Mr.. Guernsey, representing the ship
pers in that case, made answer to the
criticism of Mr.. White in this particu-
lar. At the same time, but independ-
emily, the rail board made answer to
the effect ths4t the record disclosed its
loyalty to the interests of the shippers
and that, manifestly, it could not un-
dertake to represent eacn Of the or
CARNATIONS Of shippers in the state in
lieu of the special representatives en-
Mr.. Wylie In Des Moines, etc. 1t was
commended that the board really acts
as court.
Wants More Activity.
Mr.. White has rejoined that the
commission should not be court, en-
itirely, but should be on the job all Of
the time as representative of the in
terests of shippers. His reply is as
follows:
shall the railroad com mission be a
useful factor in correcting unjust rates
and thereby aiding our young but
growing industries, or Is it to continue
to act simply as a board Of arbitrators
to settle petty disputes between the in
dividual and the carrier?
.This is a question that merits far
greater consideration than it has re-
ceived and should be agitated until
this commission becomes live, active
body to aid and protect the shippers
OF the state.
1T is not my purpose to unjustly
criticize the commission | want to
give them credit for all they haye done
and will frankly say. as I said in my
other article, that since January, 1907,
this commission has rendered the ship
per more good service than they had
received, from the commission, for a
long time preceding that date.
For many years prior to 1907 the
work of the commission had been con-
fined to the arbitration OF few petty
disputes between the shipper and the
railroads. They conducted their office
with the minimum Of effort and did not
ask for an extension Of powers or du-
ties. Any person who reads the pub
lished reports of the commission will
find proof of the above assertion. 1t is
claimed they gave but u small por-.
ton of their time to the work.
''The commission interposes the plea
Of want Of time to Investigate rates
and do for the state what the freight
commissioners are doing for their re-
spective cities. Or. in other words,
their other duties prevent them from
complying with sections 212Oa, and
2120b, revised supplement to the code.
This law became effective April 16,
1907. Over thirteen months have
elapsed and the shipper may well ask,
Will these sections ever be effective?"
Funds Are Provided.
Tn this connection would call the
attention of the commission to Chap.
205, laws of the Sind general assem-
bly,, investigation Of freight rates, pro-
uding: THAT $4,000 is hereby appro-
priated out of the funds in the state
treasury, to be expended by the state
railway commission, in aking spe-
cial investigation Of the subject of
railway freight rates.
1.-THE language Of this chapter is
surely plain and direct. Sections 2120a
and 2120b make 1t the duty of the
commission to investigate and correct
unjust and discriminating rates, and
Chap 2O5 appropriates the sum Of $5.-
900 to begin the work. If the board
has not time to give TO this work. they
should, before now have employed a
man, with enough capacity, to work out
and publish some of these unjust and
rates.
"The railroad commission Is as i'm
portant factor to the state as is the
Interstate commerce commission to the
u. S. President Roosevelt injected new
life into the interstate commission by
asking some of its members to resign
and give him chance to appoint men
who would do the work. No man
should ask to hold a position on the
state commission unless he is willing
to give the larger part OF his time to
the performance Of his duties. While
may be ignorant Of the mysteries and
of the work Of the COM
the shippers of the state are
not as ignorant as the commission has
believed. I would ask the commits
sion whether they believed the ship
pers We're ignorant or whether the
was guilty of ignorance
when they established the recent
of reasonable express rates
and claimed to make a reduction of
about 20 per cent in rates, but in real
ity many of the rates thus established