Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-04-30
COMMISSIONER rHORNE RIDDLES
RAILROADS. PLEA FOR IN.
CREASE IN RATES.
BRIEF FILED BEFORE BOARD
DECIDEDLY STRONG DOCUMENT
Thorne Shows Railways Will Not Go
Broke, Nor Will Dividends Be I'm
possible il Interstate Commission
Refuses to Order Desired Rate Raise
of 5 Per Cent.
,ecial TO Characterization.

! Des Moines, April 30-American
railways will not go broke, nor precipi-
tate a panic. nor will the dire predic-
tons of disaster be realized. accord
| ing to Chairman Thorne as the mat
ter is presented in the brief and argu-
ment to the interstate commerce COM
mission on the advanced rate case. as
forwarded to him from hero today. The
brief" Is book Of large size, but IS
filed with good material and every line
will be read by the commissioners.
Competent judges declare 1t to be one
of the completest and most convincing
arguments ever made up On case OF
such nation wide Importance.
In this case says Mr.. Thorne in
concluding the argument. 'if you deny
the right to a general ad,a you
know, and we know. that the pros
perity of these companies Is bound to
keep on increasing, just as 1t has IN
the past. Now and then, Of course,
hard times will come in this business,
as In all others. But two, three, five
and ten years from now, your judg-
ment will be completely vindicated just
as the we'll balanced opinion by the
learned justices Of our supreme court
in 1908 has been upheld by subsequent
events, and Just as the conclusions You
reached in 1911 have been indicated
by this record"
Railroads Give Cry Of Alarm.
The reference is to the decision in
the MOI thern Securities case and to
the former refusal to advance rates.
Perhaps never before" Mr. Thorne
! tells the commission, "in the history
Of this body, have such concerted ma
| tional efforts been made to courd the
alarm as to what will happen to the
railroads and all industries dependent
upon or closely identified with them.
Great hnanciers, railroad president, Of
ficials. and great journalists all have
combined in an attempt to impress the
possibility Of halt in railroading
idleness and hard times that will fol-
low a decision adverse to the rail-
roads" But in the Northern Securities
case the supreme court had the -cour-
age to act regardless of the similar ef-
forts. and in 1910 the commission itself
disregarded the predictions Of disaster
| Mr.. Thorne has summed up and
reiterated as to the showing in de-
NAL Of the claims of the railroads tina,
their net revenues have been decreas-
| ing and that income is not adequate
He presented strong argument to the
effect that by their own showing the
! railroads have been prosperous an6
their credit is good, that they are no,
in need of additional revenue but when
well managed are in excellent condl-
ton. He will argue the matter orally
to the commission this week.
Mixing Politics and Business.
In his concluding recapitulation Mr.
Thorne said:
1--WE have been told that the pei
cent advance in freight rates will per,
init our railroads to purchase more
supplies. and, thereby, it will hell
business generally. If that be true
why wouldn't a per cent advance &C
complish the same thing next year, anc
the same thing the next year? We
should, at least, have it to help ou
every new administration, and possibl.
on the eve of every congressional cleo.
ton. Such politics mixed in with the
regulation of a great industry is apt
to be rather costly to the country.
There is not a farmer in the land
who could not use % per cent more
money than he Is going to have next
year. for the building Of slos. better
barns and fences. houses, and the buy.
ing of more machinery. The samv
argument could be used to support ar
increase in the charges on everything
else from express rates to lawyers
fees. There is a limit somewhere, a
balance. The railways are entitled tc
a reasonable return on their property
and an adequate compensation t.
maintain their credit, so that addi-