The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1913-11-07
"GIVEN RAW DEAL"
RICHARDS AYERS
Chairman Railroad Commission is
Observation-Disclosures Need
ed.

Columbia, Nov. 6.--"The interstate
commerce commission, as | was afraid
it would, has sustained the railroads
in their discriminatory and unrea-
sonable mileage book regulations and
have perpetuated as far as possible a
system that is nefarious and well-nigh
unbearable," said ]. G. Richards, Jr.,
chairman of the South Carolina rail
road commission, last night.
eve made the best fight for relief
possible under the circumstances" !"
said Mr.. Richards, "but the railroads
have won and the people are made to
suffer
while this question was purely a
local one, the interstate commerce
commission of it's own motion asso-
ciated the entire territory east of the
Mississippi and South Of the OHIO and
Potomac rivers in the fight" Mr.. Rich
ards continued, although throughout
this territory there was practically no
complaint on the part Of the people
and conditions were and are entirely
dissimilar from those existing in
South Carolina Lawyers represent
ing the railroads from Washington 70
the Gulf of Mexico were thus permit
ted to appear and South Carolina was
forced to make the uneven fight
against tremendous Odds Gen. Lyon,
: who represented the State in this case
during the latter part Of his admins
tration, and Mr.. DeBruhl, who repre-
sented the State for the present at
torney general, Office, discharged
their duty with faithfulness and abili-
ty and they deserved to win.
"Tne people of South Carolina have
been given raw deal. To say the
least, we had every reason to EXPECT
that the interstate commerce commits
sion would have ordered the railroads
to honor their own mileage books over
their own lines, whether the holder
of the book was making an inter or
intrastate journey, but they do not
seem to have even considered that
phase of the question. Mr. Marble
is unfortunate in his quotations from
the evidence, of the witnesses for the
State and seems to have selected ex-
cerpts that would create the impress
sion that the request for relief was
based upon the selfish desire of few
men whose individual comfort had
been disturbed by the present mileage
system.
This is an entirely erroneous i'm
preston. The fight has been pressed
by the travelling men of this State and
at great inconvenience and expense
from patriotic motives, and for the
purpose of getting relief from an out
rageously burdensome system-relief
not only for themselves but for all
classes of our citizens who use mil
cage in travel, and the evidence shows
that about % per cent. of the travel
in this State is by mileage.
while l do not hesitate to say that
l am disappointed at the decision, i.
may turn out to be a blessing in dis
guise, for it brings us face to face
with the question. Snail the people or
the railroads rule? and once the peo-
pie are aroused l have no fear as to
the result While was a member Of
the legislature and since 1 have been
a member Of the South Carolina rail-
road commission and on the stump
and off it 1 have contended for a
2-cent fiat rate and l shall continue to
do so. 1 appeared before the commit
tee of the last legislature and urged
the passage OF Sucn law.
"The people of the State are en-
TITLED to lower rate than they now
have and from the financial statements
made by the railroads and filed in the
commissions Office, they can stand the
reduction in their revenue and still
declare a handsome dividend. l hope
that the effect of this decision will
be to arouse the people and that the
demand for a 2-cent fiat rate will be-
come so strong that it will soon be a
law of this State. With 2-cent rate
the mileage book question will be-
come of little consequence"