The Detroit times., 1914-10-27
sy gibson GARDNER.

WASHINGTON. Oct. 27.-"I am go
ing to propose measure that Will
require every hen In Iowa to lay an
egg every day: and when she falls
to do 30, that the government shall
make up to the owner OF that hen
the value OF the egg she did not lay.
This will enable the farmers 10 have
more money with which to buy ma
chinery. This, In turn. win make the
factories keep buster; II Will keep
money In circulation, and make the
crops bigger and better. And why
not tax everybody for the benefit Oh
everybody else. and thereby make
everybody richer? How perfectly
splendid"
Thus spoke Clifford Thorne, chair
man OF the Iowa State Railway COM
mission, testifying before the inter
state commerce commission In the
1--we per cent case" where the east
ern railroads are again asking the
commission for an increase OF freight
rates.
"If II Is right for the government
to shield the railroads from the eff
tCCt6 vi InO W0A ~ ~ 40 Atehs sO@
the government to make good the
losses OF the people In industries,
then IL Is right to tax everybody Tor
everybody else's benefit" said
Thorne. Proceeding with his more
serious argument, Mr.. Thorne said:
This IL the third time American
railroads have sought to force a gen.
eral advance In freight rates. In 1910
they claimed q crisis existed. Instead
OF q crisis. the commission found
that to be the most prosperous year
In the whole history Of American rail-
roads. In the five per cent case.
basing their claim on the year 1913,
the claim OF crisis was again
made" continued Mr.. Thorne, "and
you concluded that there Is no crisis
In the condition OF the railroads In OF
fetal classification territory, taken as
whole Now, for the third time the
railroads claim there is crisis. To-
day they have some foundation .or
their claim. But this emergency
upon which the carriers are relying
today, affects practically all OF US IN
the same manner. II Is following 2
period OF marked depression In bust
ness for about q year. subsequent 70
the Balkan wars, disturbances In Eu'
rope, and the short crops OF last year
| II is Just as hard for the manufac'
turer, the farmer. the laborer. the
telephone company. or the beef trust
to borrow money. as II Is for the rail-
roads to do 30.
"The railroads are asking for
sort of war tax: they are asking the
government to lift the burden on Q
part Of the community and SHIFT II
over on to the shoulders OF others
They ask the wageearner, who mas
lost his job, or had his wages re
duced, the cotton planter who car
not sell his cotton, and the manufac
turer who has been compelled &c
close his shop or reduce his force
they ask these men to carry the bur
den OF the railroad. In addition te
their own"
Mr.. Thorne IL not without q plar
to remedy the railroads troubles
"The carriers" he said, "claim the
present emergency win compel them
to pay q higher interest rate amount
ing to I or IL per cent. A substan
i tial Increase In interest charges oc
Cured In 1893, 1904. and the latteI
part Of 1907. On not one OF these
occasions did the carriers advance
freight rates. They met the situa
ton In another, and wiser manner. "A
policy that DEGREES higher rates dur
ing periods Of depression, and Lowell