The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1908-02-13
J0BBERS WILL ASK
CONGRESS fT GGGeultTttAAW
EXPRESS COMPANIES
Association Declares There q
No Reason Why They
Should Exist.

Sioux Falls. S. d.. Feb. 11.-H. NJ
Jones, of this city, president of the
Western Fruit Jobbers' association, an
organization embracing all the territory
west OF the Mississippi river, an
nounces that his organization expectu
to ask congress before he end Of the
present session to enact legislation
having the express companies.
Immediately following the special 70
port OF the Interstate Commerce com
mission upon the business OF the ex-
press companies Of the United StateaL
the ass0ciatt IN will begin Its organised
effort to have the express business de-
clared illegal.
It was This organization which, two
years ago. fought the private car lines
all through the session OF congress at
which the railway rate bill wassenact-
ed. A special committee OF the Sem
ate spent seven weeks hearing the EVIL
enc collected by he association. Al
q result Of the rate bill, which re-
quires the railroad companies to
the equipment necessary to Transports
ton. the private car lines ia been
ended. This was accomplished when
the Senate voted down amendments
to the rate bill introduced by Senator
Kittredge. of South Dakota. to recOg-
nize the private car Hines as common
carriers.
Work Of Association.
It was also the work of this or9anizA-
ton hat put a resolution through con-
gress a "a ago. directing the Inter
state Commerce commission to inquire
into and report upon the express bust
ness. The commission appointed Spe-
cial Examiner Brown. who has held
meetings In Omaha. Kansas City, Chi
cago. Dallas and Fort worth. The fruit
jobbers' association was represented by
it's attorneys at these hearings. and
the express companies by a number OF
lawyers headed by Frank Stockton. at
torney for the Wells Fargo company.
Frank Gaines. an attorney of Omaha.
Is now making q brief OF the evidence.
in behalf of the fruit jobbers' asEocia-
ton, which he will present to the COM
mission. The attorneys for the express
companies will make a plea for their
within a week. The association hopes
a h Interstate Commerce commits
sion can make it's report to congress-
within a fortnight, or a month at tho
latest. Upon that report and its show
.1ngs, the association will ask congress
to abolish the express companies as a
needless tax upon the shipping inter
ests Of the country.
Fight to Finish.
THE report OF the commission" saiH
Mr.. Jones, will show that 80 per cent
OF the business Of the express com
mics Is done by employees OF the rail-
way companies. The express COM
.panies have no railroads. no means OF
transportation. They own practically no
property. In most cases their offices
are simply rented. All that is required
by them Is desk room in which TO col
lect their money and small storage
rooms from which TO make deliveries.
yet these express companies are
capitalized at tremendous sums. The
shippers are paying dividends on blue
sky to enrich the stockholders of5thesa
companies. We not only pay the rail-
road companies for transportation a
sum they are willing to accept from the
express companies as sufficient, but we
must pay the express companies an adj
ditional sum. We are paying twtse for
all transportation carried by the ex-
press companies.
TT should be understood the West
ern Fruit Jobbers' association is in
this fight to stay. We will keep at it
until a law is passed that refuses to
allow any but common carriers to ac-
cept freight for transportation"