The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1911-03-24
HELAMBERTVlLLE RECORD
FRIDAY, MARCH "a, 1911
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER

OUR WASHINGTON LETTER
From our Special CORRESPONDENT Frank Fuller
The absence from this city during the
past week of the President and pract-
icAlly all his cabinet and men who give
the air of political center, has made
very quiet season here, and but for the
movement of the troops to the move
ments of the troops tn frontier and the
mystery surrounding it, we would hard
ly knoM we had an administration and
a national capital. The unexplained
action of the authoritiesin regard to the
Mexican situation has lead to much dis
cusson among statesmen and there no
doubt will be a thorough investigation
of the whole subject as soon as Con
gress convenes in April. The general
opinion here seems to be that there is
no governmental policy involved and no
doctrines to be upheld, but that it was
purely scare OF the money interests
holding securities or properties that
feared for investments.
The Post Office Department has
authorized the establishment of fifty new
rural free delivery routes to begin June
Ist They are to be scattered over a
number OF states, Michigan leading
with the greatest number which is six
with Alabama and New Jersey four each
other states getting one and two each.
The longest route is in Kansas, which
is thirty tour miles long, and serves 100
families. New York has the next longest
fifteen miles and serves 26l families
Ohio has the next longest, twelve miles
and serves 200 families.
There are many rumors here regard
ing changes in the cabinet, and while
those are persistently denied, those on
the inside insist upon the truth Of the
suggestions. 1t is currently reported
that Secretary Knox is not in sympathy
with the Mexican situation, in fact that
he was not consulted as to sending
troops to the frontier, and would not
have approved it, and that he has been
ignored on several occasions by the
President when his Department was
especially involved. 1t is said that ex-
Senator Garter will be Attorney General
and the present Attorney General Wick
ersham, will 60 TO the State Depart
ment The President now relies chief
ly upon Secretaries Magic and Mr.. Wick
ershan, and he would like to have Mr.
Carter especially as political adviser.
The Interstate Commerce Commission
has just delivered one OF the most im-
portant opinions ever declared by that
body, and that is, that railroad CON
panes while they are allowed to make
a fair and reasonable interest on their
investments, they must not fix their
rates unreasonably high in order to
make that interest on wattered stock fer
over capitalization. They found that the
road in controversy, which is an elect
ric road running over into Virginia from
this city, was bounded and capitalized
or about $2oo, 900 per mile while the
actual and real valuation was about
10000 per mile. They therefore held
that it was unfair and unreasonable to
make rates high enough to yield fair
interest on this excessive capitalization,
and they order the same reduced to a
point that will yield fair rate on the
actual investment. The writer had an |
interview with Mr.. Fuller, the Attorney |
for the people in this case, and he said |
that while the ruling went only to single |
trip fares, as those were all that he was
contending to have reduced, he was sat
isiied the same principle will apply to
round trip and commutation tickets,
and he will take this up at once with
the Commission.