Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-01-10
FACTS COMING OUT REGARD.
ING RAILWAY COMMISSIONS
CHANGE OF ORDER.
COMMISSION REsclNDED ACTION
WHEN DANGER WAS SHOWN
Members of Commission Make strenu-
Gus Denial to Relation of Dinner
Party Given by SO" Officials With
Hog Rates-syers Expected Home
From Washington.
Special to Times-Republican.

special TO IlIneS-Republ1can.
Des Moines, JAM 16.-It will probably
be found, when all the facts are made
public, that there has been no great
difference of opinion as to the livestock
rates from Iowa among those who have
beer prosecuting the case for the Iowa
shippers at Washington. The case, as
everyone knows, is that of the shippers
who are organized into the Corn Belt
Meat Producers Association. Harry c.
case. and the attorney for the shippers
is Clifford Thorne, of Washington,
Iowa. When it was decided that the
case would be helped greatly by having
the attorney general appear the matter
was put UP to the chairman OF the rail-
road commission, Colonel Palmer. and
i he signed the order for intervention.
Z Prior 10 that time the whole matter
had been ventilated in the newspapers
and by the shippers. The attorneys and
members of the commission appeared
before Judge Prouty. of the commits
sion in Chicago and there presented
the evidence on which to base the claim
for a reduction in the rates on hogs
and cattle. Nothing further was done
until a few weeks ago when Attorney
General Byers received notice from the
commission that arguments would be
heard last week by the commission in
Washington.
/ Now that il is disclosed at Wash
ington that the state commission had
/ sought at one time to abandon half of
the case and admit the contention Of
the railroads, the whole record has
been made public 1t is found that the
action referred 10 occurred on Nov. 8.
1t is stated that this was to be a secret
order, intended only for the Information
of the attorney general. Immediately
the attorneys for the railroads incor
porated the order in their argument.
1t was seen that by making such use
of the order it was as good as killing
+ the entire case of the Iowa shippers
/ for if the state admitted that half the
case was wrong it would certainly hurt
the other half.
! Because of this fact. and following a
some what stormy conference with rep
resentatives OF the shippers, an order
was entered changing the record and
on with the case as if nothing had beea
done in the way of admitting error as
to a part This was Dec 80. Since
attorneys appeared before. the COM
mission, when necessarily the entire
record was brought to light.
An effort has been made, apparently,
to show that the action of the commits
lit,
to hog rates had some relation TO a
conference between the commission, or
some members thereof, and officials of
the Burlington railroad the night pre-
vous. There has also been some init
NATION that in the matter of securing
the intervention in the first place there
was deception used. These are but
newspaper possip. however.
| The attorney general is expected
home today
That Dinner Party.
A dinner party in which \. S. ketch-
UNI and Col. D. ]. Palmer of the state
railway commission and officials of the
@" road participated on the night of
Nov. 2 at the Slavery has been brought
in as part Of the row now on between
the commission and the Corn Belt
/ Meat Producers Association.
Friends of the meat producers asso-
citation last night recalled that the din
ner party preceded the passage of this
4 resolution and the little dinner party
has at once leaped to the front as an
important topic for discussion in con-
nection with the controversy.
y Didn't Talk Business.
4 Railway Commissioners Ketchum ant
Palmer made no denial of the fact thai
h hey had dinner in the same cafe ant
at the same table as the %" officials
I but a strenuous denial is entered to the
report that any matter of business wa!
discussed
Commissioner Ketchun, talking owe,
Z the long distance telephone from hi
z home in Marshalltown, last night, wa
: especially strong in his denial.
Not a word was said about tina
i resolution at that dinner he asserted
1T was not mentioned at all. And
q Furthermore, l want to say that at NJ
time has anything been said to me o
d to any other member of the commits
q sion, as far as I know, concerning tn
: action of the board in this rate bust
ness by any railroad man or repre-
= sentative of any railroad"
z The railway commission had on Nov
|. 2 made the trip over the Indianola
9 Charlton branch of the co. in compan
& with 90 officials, and hearing in tina
. case had been set Tor Nov. 8, viii l
x accounted for the presence Of the 20
5 officers in town that night. The spe
o) o;o1 +ro;o Aid NOT orriya i'm Dec Moipo