The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-04-11
Secretary Cowles
 Presents Arguments
 For Rate Regulation
Editor of The Farmer:

EQlCOr or The far11er:
 "All sums exacted from the com munity for transport ta tion, whether of persons Or property constitute an ex- action in the nature of a tax, just as
 much tax as water rates, Or the
 assessment on property or the tariff
 duties on imports. That it is wholly
 or in part a necessary tax, one which
 can at most, only be reduced to a
 this in no degree affects the principle.
 It is still tax.'' Thus spoke the Railroad Commission of Massachusetts
 in 1871, and in 1903, Interstate Com merce Commissioner, Chas, J. Prouty
 said s'Tae present system of making railway rates is taxation without re- presentation in it's most dangerous dangerous form of taxation now amount to a total of over $2,5oO, GOO, 900 a year to over $50 year, the average over, are always levied on the prin- ciple of what the traffic will bear" they are liable to change every thir- ty days; they always favor the big towns as against the little towns, the great terminals as against the inter vening country; in many cases they are hundred per cent higher in the case of the man dealing in less than carloads than upon his competitor deal- ing in carloads. in the determination of these taxes, the taxpayers have no share.
 protest against the continuance of this system of transport taxation and as a substitute for the attempt to reg ulae railway taxes under the existing Interstate Commerce Act and under it's amendments by the bills now before Congress, I offer the following propos- ition for public considers ton:
 First, in order to determine the amount of the general tax needed for the support If our National highways, and to apportion the same among the different railways, Congress shall take the total amount of the revenues de- rived from the operation of the rail- ways in that most prosperous year, 1907-in round numbers $2, 500, ,000, ,000-I and apportion the same among the different railways on the basis of the q revenues per average passenger and ports of the Interstate Commerce Com mission of 1907, a little less than one dollar twenty-sfx cents per passenger train mile and a little more than two dollars and seventy-four cents per freight mile, this to be increased as may seem ecessary-possibly five cents per train mile,-to meet the in- creased wages of railway employees and the increased cost of railway ma terials
 Second, in order to apportion to each citizen his individual transport tax, Congress shall make the very lowest rate for each class of transDort ser vice. the uniform standard rate for, all distances.
 To carry this plan into operation. I propose that the Interstate Commerce Commission shall be consolidated with the Post Office Department and that the enlarged department shall consist of the Postmaster General and ten as- socia ates including the present mem 1 bers of the Interstate Commerce Com l each of the ten associates to | have the control of and be responsi- | b1e for the business of one of the ten | groups into which eethe Railway Ter ritory'' of the United States is divided | sion. This enlarged Post Office depart ment shall contract. with the railways for their entire service, in accord with l the total amount of their earnings, say | for the year 1907 and shall apportion the same among the railways accord 1 ing to their average revenues per pas | senger train mile and per freight train mile.
 Under the Constitution, Congress 1 cannot delegate it's power of taxation l to any other body and must therefore itself determine the tax to be paid | oy the citizen for his share toward the of our National highways. a ask which, happily. is not difficult. IS this part of the problem has already been solved by the railways. The uni form rate to be adopted must be as ow as the lowest existing railway rate n each class of the service, for other wise, it would be higher than the | short distance service could bear. In many eases the lowest local rate on ess than carload freight for the short sst distance, will be found to be high sr than the average long distance hrou~h rate on carload freight. In
 
 Boston & Maine Railroad. gave these l IS the rate charged for the transport If flour in carloads from Ogdensburg l our hundred and twenty-nine miles o Boston; for transportation 7.2 cents Der barrel, terminal charges at Boston
 cents, total 10.2 cents The less than carload rate on barrel of flour over he N. Y, N. H. and Hartford Rail- .oad to Wethersfe1d four miles, in quantities of several barrels is 12 cents barrel.
 The rates for ordinary traffic, un- Ter the proposed postage stamp prin- ip1e of transport taxation, will be practically follows:
 PASSENGER FARES.
 Fast trains making few stops $1 per rip
 Slower express trains making ire uent stops 25c per trip.
 Slow local trains making all stops c per trip.
 FREIGHT RATES Closed car service, per haul 10c per arrel of 200 lbs, 4 cubic it. space. . Open car service, per haul, soc per ! on 40 cubic it. sp9ce.. Dollar fares per trip Boston to /, an Francisco by the fastest trains , hat run. 10e haul per barrel '' ancv that this will furnish 8 winning f attle cry for the progressive candi- ' Sn F1a <sfaT,a &sor1 ]