New-York tribune., 1910-07-24
TRAITORS, SAYS CUMMlNS
His Views of Supporters of Rail
road Bill

Peabody. Kan. July Ex-senator Albert
B. Cummins, of Iowa, in his speech before
the Chautauqua here to-day asserted that
Senator Aldrich and Speaker Cannon were
traitors to their party, if not to the coun-
try, when they gave their support to the
Wickersham railroad bill as it came from
the Attorney Generals Office and demand
ed that it go through Congress. He said in
part:
That bill was a direct repudiation of the
Republican party platform of 1908. and il
was directly in the interest of the railroads
and not in the interests of the great COM
mon people of the country.
Senator Aldrich has vigorously opposed
all regulation of the railroads by Congress
ever since the bill to create the Interstate
Commerce Commission was introduced in
1887. was born, and always have been, d
Republican, but | cannot and will not fol-
low the leadership of traitor to his party
and the people.
1 am not opposed TO the railroads. No
man who values the public welfare can be
hostile to the railroads; but justice to all
means to pay the righteous dues as fixed
by the laws of trade. by competition or
country capitalized at 1900 900 600
The highest estimate 1 have ever heard
placed on the actual amount of independent
capital put into their roads was sS0O0. .0O0-
CO. There Is nearly So, 200, 600 coo OF impure
and adulterated water.
You have to pay more than you ought to
dividends on this vast capitalization The
railroads charge excessive rates and ac-
cumulate surplus, and this they put back
into the roads In improvements and they
now ask you to pay additional interest on
this surplus. secured by extortionate rat tes
Senator Aldrlch was Senator in 1887
He was not silent. but he vigorously on
posed the Interstate Commerce Commission
bill, and ever since he has opposed every
blll that attempted to regulate and restrict
the railroads.
The question that Aldrjc6 ap5 Co,,ou
always seem to ask when railroad meas
ure Is up IS. VIII II hurt the railroads -
II 1t seems that the law will hurt, these
men oppose 1t. honestly maybe. but they
seem to believe that the railroads are To
De exalted rather than regulated and con-
trolled.
The Republican platform of 1908 de-
ciared Tor more amendments to the rail-
r2ad Dill The platform declared in favor
OF traffic agreements by the railroads II
properly safeguarded and with the apnro-
val OF the Interstate Commerce Commits
sion 'i''iiiS
When Congress met a, bill came from, the
the Attorney General forgot that he was
attorney for ninety million people R,,t he
RENE mbered his long law practice IN NaU-
thn ORR wnen ms chief business was to tell
Inc corporations how to evade the law
rms Dill provided for the repeal of tha
ahu-tTust law under which the traffic as
e-aan We're broken UP. and allowed all
aSIeeinehtS 10 go into effect at once and
then the Interstate Commerce Comnissjo,
sicula investigate the rates while m
charges were being made i'o 'i'e
RMS was a plain repudiatiop ~, ~ n
puhhcan platform Aldrich. in the go
lnit'ee room said the bill should mass with-
oS oS' a the SSnanElng OF letter or the dott,nr
far as the COMMITTEES was concar true as
as the Dill passed the Senate IT'S own ,,o.Si Sus
70. r noi M, recognize IT. II 1t had not been
fror, fba nnr,tow mMe Sristow the bill as IL came
Senate. nave passed the