The Washington herald., 1910-06-07
NO RATE INCREASE
Continued from Page one.

vestigation by the Interstate Commeree
Commission under the authority to be
| conveyed by the new law.
The general effect OF the understanding
reached at the White House yesterday
win be that all increases IN freight rates
that have been fled since May 1. and
that have been contemplated by the rail-
roads of the country within the next few
months. will be suspended in their opera
ton for at least a year.
This suspension will be far-reaohing IN
It's effect upon many railroads that have
been eoanting on the increased revenue.
But in the opinion OF railroad men here
this disturbance will be trivial compared
with what would have resulted through
the uncertainty arising out OF an attempt
on the part OF the administration 10 en-
force the Sherman antitrust law against
the present method Of rate making.
Conference Last Four Hours.
The agreement was reached yesterday
after a four-hour conference at the
White House.
Attending were E. p. Ripley. president
OF the Santa Re system: s. F. FELTON,.
| president OF the Great Western Railroad;
r. A. Delano. president OF the Wabash,
and Walker d. Hines, chairman of the
Santa FEES executive committee; Presl-
dent Taft. Attorney General Wicker
| sham, Secretary OF State Knox, and Sec
rotary of Commerce and LABOR NageI.
The President regarded the matter al
Issue before the conference az one OF the
most important that has confronted the
administration, as was indicated by the
presence IN the conference room OF the
! three lawyers in the Taft Cabinet.
Many who saw the Taft statement
were particularly impressed with the
Presidents assertion that ne had as
sured the railroad men at the outset that
the purpose Of the Federal suit was TO
prevent the proposed rate Increases and
TO preserve their status until the new
railroad bin could be put on the statute
books. The President, of course. makes
no direct reference 20 the Sherman anti
trust law in his statement, but the in
ference is plain that tho real motive IN
bringing the suit under the antitrust law
was TO IND a temporary eXDedient
Attorney General Wickersham had
pointed out that the governments action
was not directed against increased rates.
but was a suit based on alleged viola
| tons Of the Sherman antitrust law.
There is an inclination on the part OF
some persons 10 believe that Mr.. Wicker
sham has been left IN an uncomfortable
situation, but there is no intimatiOn that
there IS now any difference between Mr..
| Taft and his Attorney General over the
| developments Of the day.
Lane and Knapp Called In.
The conference at the White House
began at o'clock In the afternoon. and
II was after o'clock when the three
railroad presidents emerged from the con-
| ference room. Commissioners Lane and
Knapp, OF the Interstate Commerce. Com
mission, were called over to the White
| House at about . o'clock in the after
noon. They were called IN after the con-
| ferees had agreed upon the course 10 be
| pursued. The President and also the rail-
road executives wanted 10 get the opin-
| ions Of the commissioners as 20 how the
freight tariffs might be withdrawn and
rehled. The commissioners gave the rail-
road presidents assurance that they would
| permit them 70 withdraw their increased
rates at once without detriment The
administration railroad bin has now
passed the Senate and House. and prob
ably VIII be sent to conference to-day.
1t is the expectation Of President Taft
that the bin will be ready for his sig
nature before July ].
! As soon as the bill becomes a Law. all
| or the railroads viii refile the rates
/ Under the terms OF the new railroad
| law, as IL Is expected 10 appear on the
/ statute books. the commission Is author
| lied upon It's own initiative to undertake
an investigation into the reasOnableness
OF all increases. The commission win be
empowered 10 suspend the rates for 100
! days, pending the investigation.
! II at the end Of that period the com
mission has not arrived at any concIu-
/ sion II will have the power under the
new law 20 suspend the operation OF the
| rates for an additional six months
Counting the thirty days IN which the
/ rates viii have 10 be on file before they
/ could become effective, the commission
| VIII thus have eleven months IN which
/ TO examine into the reasonableness OF the
/ tariffs. Under the terms OF the pending
/ bill all rates suspended by the commits
| sion are 70 become operative at the end
of the eleven months If the commission
| has not then reached a conclusion.
Year Until Effective.
Thus. counting a full eleven months for
the commissions consideration Of the
| thousands and thousands of rates in
volved in the present understanding, It
will probably be at least June / next
year before all OF the rates can possibly
be in effect
| Members of the commission would not
venture an opinion as to how long It
viii take them to pass on the increased
rates.
at is stupendous undertaking. and
we are all at sea" was the way one
member OF the commission put II.
| 1T Is the biggest rate adjustment and
one of the most important situations that
j Ial -
other member of the commission.
Both agreed that II would take the CON-
mission certainly the full eleven months
J to pass on the increases.
Railroad representatives here were OF
the opinion IT would be possible for the
commission to group hundreds of the
rates of each road and pass upon them
collectively. Railroad men admitted,
| however, that it would not be possible
| for the commission TO apply the facts
and standards established In a considera-
ton Of one roads rates to those of an
other. What the commission will have TO
do is to give separate hearing to each
road involved, and there viii be more
than hundred OF them.
Larger Increases Planned.
The increases which the railroads have
filed up TO this time are hardly a be-
ginning on the advances that they had
planned TO put in. The twenty-five west
ern railroads have raised their rates at
the present time on only one-half of
per cent of the total tonnage of the
roads. They have planned 10 make ad-
vanees on Is per cent of the tonnage of
the roads. the increases to average
about Is per cent. 1t is thus obvious
that only small percentage OF the in
creases that were 10 come before the end
of the year were caught in the Federal
governments suit.
At the conference the railroad men de-
clihed to acknowledge that they violated