Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1913-03-20
NOTABLE VICTORY
FOR THE PEOPLE
Upsetting of Western Classical
ton 81 Means Much.
RAILROADS LOSE BIG CASE
Chairman Thorne Of Iowa Commits
sion Tells How the Shippers and
Consumers Of the West Bene-
fit by the Decision.

mt by the Decistons
Des Moines, Ia, March 13.-The peo-
pie of the United States have had
Iowa to thank for a number of ex-
cellent things, and to the list must
be now added an achievement that
means a great deal to the shippers oil
the entire west from the Mississippi
to the Pacific. Especially are those
shippers under obligations to the Iowa
state board of railroad commissioners
and it's chairman, Clifford Thorne.
This achievement is the suspension
end revision. by the interstate COM
merce commission, of an entire freight
classification, known as Western clas-
sification No. 81, and on March 81 the
several hundred changes made to con-
form to the commissions order Will
go into effect. Shippers and consum-
ers alike will benefit by the revision.
Iowa Leads the Fight,
Iowa's commission vas by no means
alone in the good work, but it took
the initiative in the case and assumed
the chief part of the burden of pre-
pairing and trying 1t. Sixteen western
state railroad commissions united in
the fight, and Mr.. Thorne was the
chairman of the committee represent
ing them. He gives much credit to
Benjamin l.. Jacobson, who had gen
eral charge of gathering the evidence
and preparing, the specific cases for
trial, and to A. D. Beals, Iowa's rate
expert.
Mr.. Thorne today had this to SLY OF
the big cast and its outcome:
"One day during the summer of 1911
l was seated in a hotel parlor in Mil.
waukee. In one end of the room there
we're sixteen men in their shirtsleeves
talking and listening occasionally te
a person standing In the center OF the
room; two or three minutes were al
lowed to the gentleman talking; ht
took his seat and another person TOLD
a short story; and SO on, during the
course of the whole day.
Powerful Group of Men.
This small group of men exercised
more power than any other similar
group, perhaps, in the United States
Some nine hundred railroads, large
and small, interested in traffic be
tween the Mississippi river and the Pa
cific coast, have organized what the.
call q western classification commit
tee of about eighty-five members
These eighty-five men have selected
subcommittee of sixteen men. Thi
subcommittee, which Is dominated b,
one or two individuals, determines tn
freight ratings on over 1000 articles
on which 35,OO0,O0O people have t
pay traffic between about 5000
towns, located between the MississiE
pi river and the Pacific coast. Thi
is one of the three important CLASSIC
cation committees in America, tn
other two being the official, GOVERNS
the northeastern portion of the Uni
ed States, and the Southern.
For the first time in the history {
American railroads an entire classit
cation of one Of these three gres
freight classification committees ha
been suspended by the federal govern
ment. And the committee l have d.
scribed has been making a revision
its former work, in accordance wit
the decision which was rendered b
the Interstate commerce commissio
recently, known as the decision in th
case of Western classification No. 5
The railroads have just submitted
the commission a list of several hui
bred changes in this classification
conform to the commissions order,aI
these will go into effect March 8
The opinion in this case, next to IL
one rendered in the express case,
perhaps the longest ever written I
the interstate commerce commission
The case is Of national importanc
Many of its features are unique, ar
of profound concern to the consumer
of the country.
/. Sixteen States United.
; MANY shippers and shippers G
CARNATIONS were parties to this cas-
/ But perhaps the most interesting fe
: ture was the fact that on behalf
the consumers the railroad commit
: sions Of sixteen great states appea
| ed. These states were Illinois, w
, cousin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missoul
Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Ok
homa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Nor
Dakota, Colorado, Nevada, Washin
ton and, Oregon. On the n hand v
had the representatives of some nil
hundred railroads, and opposed
them the representatives Of sixte'
state governments, with the intersta
commerce commission as the decidii
tribunal. The hearing in the ca
lasted about a year.
Western Classification No. 81