The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-02-10

mean 1Ofli Ol SoFciHiicHt anu TIC
had an abiding faith in the people.
This was a very important matter
and should be considered dispassion-
aiely. An attempt had been made
TO make il appear that the business
men of the twin cities are against
the bill for selfish motives and are
the tools of the railroads. The speak
err denied this. An effort had been
made to make it appear that great
sums of money had been spent in
sending out literature. He had sent
il all out, and the expense was only
$199. 1t was desired only to get at
the truth. He wanted TO explain the
practical effect OF the sO-called
eastman bill, and not what they
say" il win do 1t is based on dis
lance alone. Density of traffic or
competing water lines cut no fig
ure, and there is no dispute about
this. There can be no change in
The mileage from point to point. 1t
before making the experiment. The
distance tariff is not n new one.
When the northwest was first settled
and the crops were moved east 10
compete in the market, the eastern
farmers wanted distance tariff, but
if this had been done the country
west of the Mississippi would never
have been settled. If distance
tariff is good for a state it ought
to be good for the entire country.
We are inclined as people to take
a leap in the dark and look back
with regret afterwards. The only
criticism of our form of government
is The haste with which questions
of importance are settled. There
are too many bills introduced in the
legislature for the legislators to be
able to master them all intelligently.
Massachusetts has a better system,
as no legislation is enacted there UNI
til the people pretty thoroughly UNI
derstand it, AS private citizen, the
speaker had taken ii upon himself
to go out and help discuss this bill
He resented as unworthy of Senator
eastman any insinuatiOn that he
had been sent here by the railroads.
IT. was twenty-five years since he had
drawn n cent from railroad COM
pany, and then as telegraph opera
tor
Not the Iowa Law.
This bill was not a copy OF the
/ yau
of three sections of code of thir-
ty-three sections. 1t was like taking
mans bruised and tattered hand
and calling ii whole man. 1t had
left out what would be infinitely
valuable to some Mankato industries,
particularly the stone industry. Un-
der the eastman Bill a railroad can
not transport the household goods
of government employees from one
station to another. All land grant
roads are under contract to trans.
port government employees and their
! household goods at half rate. Every
! railroad act except chapter 4f9, laws
/ of 1907. is repealed by implication
by the bill. The speaker went into
/ the legal phase to some extent. Since
/ the Iowa law was passed twenty-five
years ago the views Of people have
changed on many things. The whole
question is now for the first time
! to be ihreshed out in the courts oil
Iowa. 1t is a question whether this
state ought to take up a law that is
in litigation in neighbOring state
when we already have litigation on a
similar matter
Local Stone Industry.
Ninety-ninc per cent of shipments
in this state Move on commodity
rates. For instance. the stone in
dustry in this city. Minnesota has
n maximum distance tariff now, be
yOnd which rates cannot go. The
rate here is 3 cents on rublt
and riprap, and 4 cents on building
stone, and the quarries can compete
with those elsewhere, which they
could not do under a distance tariff
law.
The Iowa state railway and ware
house commission in report sai(
that the fixed and infleXible rule OF
distance throttles competition, anf
that no other state with which low
has traffic arrangements is SO fet
tered. They said that there ough
to be greater fleXibility, as distance
was not the only thing to be con
siGered, so that special rates can
be authorized to meet competition.
Senator LaFollette created the bes
and wisest regulatory laws in tn
country and picked out splendid
board of railway and warehouse com
missioners. They sent experts t.
: investigate the Iowa distance tariff
law, and rejected it, They purpOsel,
left out the long and short hant
clause of our state laws. This ha
been beneficial to too many people
and interests to be repealed by tn,
eastman bill
The Chicago and Northwestern mile
; age from OwatOnna TO ST. Pau
is 122 miles, and the short line i
81 miles. The short hand fixes tn
: rate, and all towns between ar
benefited by this and no one il
jured Because somebody is bene
flied il does not mean that som,