Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-07-07
REAL commissioners
COMMERCE BOARD
HAS TWO LIVE MEMBERS WHO
WORK.
PRoUTY AND LANE STRIVE
TO Guido EACH OTHER
Continually Making Trouble For the
Railroads and Ordering Reductions in
Freight Rates Have Accomplished
Much in Five Years That Board
Had Promised Real Power.
Especial Correspondence

| Especial Correspondence.
| Washington, July Cant get out
| to Reno for the Jeffries- J ohnson joint
debate? Then come to Washington and
observe the footrace between the Hon.
| Charles F. Prouty and the Hon. Frank
| lin Lane.
| Maybe the proper metaphor would
/ designate the Prouty-Lane contest as
a competition in punching the bag.
:! Any railroad president would tell you
| where to see the bag. He would show
| you his revenue statements. It's the
thing these two amiable gentlem en- are
punching at.
! And they certainly are making the
bag a lot of trouble. If they keep go
| ing a little while longer, the bag Will
not be visible to the naked eye.
| Messrs. Lane and Prouty are trying
to see which can lop off the bigger
share of railroad earnings. Mr.. Prouty
started in at the game first, but Mr..
Lane has been coming at frightful
speed since he entered the contest and
the result is in doubt.
It's this way. Lane and Prouty are
members of the interstate comm cree
commission. Prouty has been there
ever since away back Of the big wind
and the spring the Hodges were hung
Nobody remembers when he started be-
ing a commissioner Tradition says
that early in his career as such he ac-
quired double harrelled crouch
against the cash account of the rail-
roads, and made a vow to take some
falls out of it. At that time the COM
70 a r.lI
its salary and ride on a pass. 1t
couldn't do thing. but it tried from
time to time. and Prouty got madden
sion when the court overturned the ef-
forts OF the commission to get action
on the railroads.
Opportunity Comes at Last.
Then about five years ago congress
passed new legislation that gave the
commission some real power; and at
the same time, Lane became a commits
sioner.
"Ah. hal" said Prouty; heres my
chance. will insert my pry and listen
to 'em scream for mercy" And simul-
taneously:
wow" exclaimed Lane; Observe
me hand it to EN-" For Mr.. Lane had
once run for governor of California
and there has always been a theory
that he would have been elected If the
Southern Pacific hadn't busted itself
to skin him. Anyhow, he was just
the sort Of commissioner the Southern
Pacific liked-not.
So the Lane-Prouty competition
started. About every fifteen minutes
one or the other of them hands down
a decision against the transcontinenta
railroads, ordering that rates be re-
duced The statistical folks haven't
been able to figure out, yet, which or
them has done the most damage; but
they certainly are working the earnings
of the western roads down toward
fighting weight at fearful pace.
Get After the Rates.
Prouty opened the trouble by decid-
ing the Spokane rate case, holding that
rates to the interior points Of the far
northwest were too high, and analyzing
the earnings of the Hill roads to show
that they were earning more money
than decency and good morals could
permit any set of railroads to get off
with. He showed conclusively that 1t
was sin for 'em to prosper so.
Then Lane got in with the big
Nevada case, in which he demons trated
that rates in the southwest, especially
in Nevada, were so high that unless
they We're soon reduced, the roads in
that section would be unable to find
storage capacity to keep their coin.
The rates were ordered reduced an
average Of one-third; which same de-
cislon absolutely deprived the south
western roads of the power Of speech.
They have been in trance ever since. |
Prouty came along with another line
of decisions, calculated to make the
trans Missouri roads apply for admis-
sion to the poor house; and now Lane
has arrived with an order that the rate
on lemons must be reduced. That is
quite the sourest lemon handed the
Southern Pacific in recent years; and
in handing it over, Mr.. Lane incident
ally observed that he had some more
of the same kind up his sleeve, con-
corning the rate on oranges, which is
being Investigated.
More to Follow.
A fine. enterprising pair Of commits
sioners they are, to be sure. Not what
you would call popular in railroad cir
Giles, but still they manage to be the
subjects Of vast deal of conversation
in those same quarters. They are not
yet done with their plans for sweating
the dig western ROADS, according to re-
ports They have already done enough
to lop off indefinite millions from rev.
enues, and the competition continues
keen. Everybody is watching the con-
test with great interest except the rail-
roads.
1t can't honestly be said that they are
getting any fun out Of it. What they
yearn for is glass of cold water and
few kind words.