River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1910-07-07


Provisions of Act With Fairness.
Beverly, Mass.-A smile spread over
the face Of President Taft Thursday
afternoon as he hurriedly left ais work
in the library of the Burgess Point
cottage and rushed to the veranda
when the Lodge limousine drove up,
the "honk honk" of which was an
nouncing the arrival of former Presi-
dent Roosevelt.
They met just outside the door and
simultaneously Taft clapped hand on
the Roosevelt shoulder as Roosevelt
seized the presidents hand in strong
grip.
Mr.. President" exclaimed the one;
and Theodore" cried the other.
by George" continued Roosevelt,
this is fine. 1 am mighty glad to see
you, Mr.. President"
Thus, after separation of sixteen
months, Taft and Roosevelt met again,
at the Taft cottage here In Beverly,
with only Senator Lodge and Secre-
tary Norton present, all the rest OF
the world being barred out.
Those who witnessed the meeting
say it was characterized by all the
old-time cordially Of relations be-
tween the two-that there was the
! best of feeling displayed-and that
the hearty bursts of laughter that pro-
.ceeded first from the president and
then from Roosevelt as they sat on
the veranda and chatted for two hours
and half, was strongly reminiscent
of the old White House days.
AS to the talk between them-it
covered wide range of topics and
there was period when the president
and Roosevelt drew aside from the rest
of the party and conversed in low
tones. What was said must remain
secret, however, between them, for
Taft declined to make any statement
after the colonel had departed and
Roosevelt would say only that he had
had a most delightful time.
In long interview with Chairman
Martin A. Knapp of the commission
Friday President Taft went exhaustive
ly into the provisions of the new law
and later, in conversation with callers,
he earnestly pointed out that there
need be no apprehension that the COM
mission will run amuck or that the
new law will be used to club indiscrim-
inately all railroads that propose IN
advance in rates.
The law, the president pointed out,
was not passed for the purpose of
lowering rates, or even of holding all
~otn xuhn OF hn nf
the passage of the law, but rather for
the purpose of equalizing rates.
Fear has been expressed that the
Idea would go abroad that the United
States government was about to en-
bark upon a campaign of oppression
against all railroads, which would be
disastrous to the railroad business,
with crop moving time approaching,
through the avoidance of American Sc
curities by foreign investors. This is
one of the things that the president
desires to avoid.
He is DESTROYS of reassuring invest
ors as we'll as the business managers
of the railroads, that the latter are not
to be dubbed, that the power of sus-
pension of increases in rates is not to
be used on all rates, but only on those
that appear to be unreasonable and
that the proposed increases are only
to be invalldated when they are
proven to be unreasonable.
In support Of this fixed policy of
the interstate commerce commission
1t was pointed out In connection with
the visit of Chairman Knapp that
while the recent decisions of the CON-
mission relative to freight rates in the
west was against number of pro-
posed increases, the commission at the
same time sustains some Of the in
creases and in all Of the cases has al
lowed the railroads until next Oc-
tober to show by practical working
OF rates, as fixed by the commission,
the reasonableness of the latter's
rulings.