The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-06-03
OUR RAILROAD RATE CASE.

We notice what purports to be dis
patch from Washington in the Smoot
"Mouth.'' - where people in that city
are wondering why it is that Utah does
not have a railroad commission to at.
tend to its case against the railroads
on freight charges The reply is that
we have what is a great deal better
than railroad commission. railroad
commission would have nothing what
ever to do with transportation rates IN
the matter Of interstate freights, 1t
would be composed of lot of Po!it-
cal pie.hunters. who would be looking
out for themselves aud the affairs OF
their party instead of attending to husr-
ness and helping the business inter
ests Of Utah. Instead of such a wart
on the body polite as railroad com
mission, the interests of the community
of Utah are attended to in live,
straightforward manner by the chamber
Of commerce and other business orgam-
cations in the matter of complaints
| of unfairness on these charges. Five
( hundred business men of Salt Lake,
! Ogden, and Provo Joined in presenting
| the Utah case To President Taft, that
! gave our case here more publicity,
greater notoriety, than 1t could possibly
have had through any efforts of rail
road commission.
4 good many States have railroad
commissions. They are sort of routine
bodies. composed. for the most part. of
| political stand-bys. whose chief interest
| is TO look out for their positions, to
! milk the railroads and the shippers
alike, to attend TO the partisan work
of their political organization. and to
make sure the permanence of their own
| Jobs. Nothing of this kind has
entered into the Utah case; nothing of
this kind entered into the Spokane case,
which is. in fact, the leading case for
all this intermountain country IN tins
| line of complaints Of unjust railroad
rates We receive from time to time
from the Interstate Commerce Commits.
sion reports Of its decisions on
various cases submitted. VIC received
bunch of them yesterday One of these
was on the complaint of Henry NJ.
Gilchrist. Another. the De Camp
Brothers ct al. Others were the La
Sale Paper company, Iagomarcino-
Grupc Company ct al, Ozark Fruit
Growers Association, Indiana Steel and
Wire Company, C. Fl. Rodehaver,
KaIispcl Lumber Company ct al,
Michael Cohen & Company, Big Black
foot Milling Company, Maricopa County
Commercial Club. O. w. Couusil, Will
liam X. Noble, William J. Dieh doing
business as Capital Pine Company, Ed
win Bcggs, Minneapolis Thrcshing
Machine Company, Sunderland Brothers
Company. Davenport Commercial Club.
| Douglas & Company, Winfield f. Cozart,
William NJ. Davis, Milwaukee Falls
Chair Company, Enterprise Fuel Com
panv. J. H, Allen & Company, Newark
Machine Company, NJ. A, Hanna Coal
Company, Bluff City Oil Company. Jo-
seph A. Goddard Company, New Albany
Box & Basket Company, Stone -Ordean-
Wells Company. American Beet Sugar
Company, Kaye & Carter Lumber
Company, Kansas City Transportation
Bureau of the Commercial Club, City of
Spokane ct al, Indianapolis Freight
Bureau (three cascs). In all received
there is not one in which any State
railroad commission plays the slightest
part.
There is no reason, however, why any
State railroad commission should figure
in the least in these suits. Indeed, no
such commission should be allowed TO
interfere. as 1T has nothing to do
with interstate commerce, and no con-
| cern in any Of the contests, which are
between the parties in direct interest,
the intermediary Of any third party in
| the proposition being, not only super
| 6uous. but intrusive.
| The fact is that the method taken
I by the Commercial Club traffic bureau
Of this city, taking the appeal to the
President thought of by Mr.. Babcock,
! the commissioner of that bureau.
gave the Salt Lake case a National i'm
portance and standing that would
have been quite impossible in any other
way. It appealed direct to the Presi-
dent, and every one is talking about it.
A good many other places have fol
lowed this lead, and made direct ap-
peal also TO the President. But in no
case have We seen any instance Of the
initiative being taken in this matter
by State railroad commission. The
probability is that any attempt Of
such body TO figure in interstate com
mercc matters would be resented a!
once and Immediately thrown out o!
court.