The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-04-08
w, S. McCAULL LEADS II. II.
FIGHT IN MISSOURI.

FIGHT IN MISSOURI.
Former Decatur County Resident =
Prominent Factor in Defeating
Railroad Increase in Missouri.
In 1906 and 1907 the Missouri
legislature enacted &c fare and a
maximum freight rate law which was
cation of the railroad. After seven
years fight the law was upheld by the
U. S. Supreme Court. During that
time the people of Missouri were
over-charged about $4,000.000. The
Milwaukee is the only road that has
repaid to the shippers and passen-.
gers these 0ver-charges. The rail-
roads claimed their limit of liability
is ten thousand dollars, the amount
of the injunction bond. Suits are
now pending in almost every court
in Missouri, covering every angle of
the rate problem. Without settling
these claims the railroads applied to
the Public Service Commission for
an advance in freight rates and to
the legislature for three cent fare
law 1t is claimed that during the
past six months the carriers expend'
ed million in Campaign of Edu-
cation" after-dinner speeches, paid
editorials and write ups in metropolis
tan journals and country weeklies,
and by circulating throughout the
country peti tions for increased rates,
these being circulated by section
men, station agents, Office boys and
claim agents. Thousands and thous-
ands of kilograms were sent to the
members Of the legislature, many of
them coming from people who were
too poor to buy loaf of bread and
certainly not able to spend money on
kilograms. The stage was all set for
the three cent fare bill to pass the
legislature when w. S. McCaull drop
ped into Jefferson City, February "a,
and placarded the town and the leg
islative halls with fiery red card
entitled, "Is Missouri to be the Goat"
and "Can the Railroads Get Away
With It," This was followed up each
day by a card of a different color
giving diversity of figures, all
tending to show that the railroads
were satisfied with an increase of 5
per cent on all lines east of the Mis-
sissippi but the smallest increase
they were asking in Missouri were
Is per cent and the highest increase
was 245 per cent.
Mr.. McCaull was raised on Deca-
tur county, Iowa, farm and between !
twenty-five and thirty years ago was
city editor of the Des Moines Daily |
News, Dubuque Herald, and report
er on the Cedar Rapids Gazette as
well as having an all-round news
paper mans experience in Denver,
Chicago, Joliet and Monmouth, and |
was special writer on many Iowa
weeklies. His father, Robert Nc
Caull, of Garden Grove, Iowa, with !
Hastis of Carlisle were
committee appointed by the Iowa
State Grange about forty years ago.
to draft what afterwards went down /
in history as the first legislative rate,
making law enacted in the u. S. This y
bill is referred to as the Iowa Grant
ger Railroad Law" The young Nc \
Caull was later lawyer in Joliet
and Chicago, having been associated
with the noted prosecutor, Judge
Joel M. Longenecker, and when John
w. Gates became interested in Mis-
souri, railroads., he and his associ-
ates sent McCaull to Kansas City
where for many years he was rail-
road claim attorney and an operator
Of coal mines for various members
of that syndicate Of late years Mr..
McCaull has been practicing law,
specializing on railroad rate matters
and is president of the McCaull-
Dryer Tie Co., heavily engaged in
producing and shipping railroad ties,
ton suit he was over-charged about
100000 on his shipments. For his
activity in these matters he claims
the railroads blacklistcd his tie COM
pany and the application of the rail-
roads for increased freight rates gave
him an opportunity to settle a few
Did scores.
On arriving at Jefferson City he
the farmer members Of the
legislature into secret band to work
md vote for any thing necessary to
iefeat advanced rates and they stood
ogethcr t6Sthe end. Outside Of the
8 Farmers Alliance" he selected as
floor managers in the senate some of
the coolest headed old time politi
clans who may have had a score or
two of their own that they wanted
to even up, and also secured to lead
the fight on the floor of the house
few of the youngest and brightest
boys in the assembly. With this or
ga.lization we'll in hand every man
working by signal as if by clock work
the defeat of the railroad lobby was
easy and complete At first the in
rcntion was only to give the rail-
roads little scare or "a run for
their money! but the lobby compos-
ed of call-boys and bell-hops, clerks
and claim agents, section men and
station agents, superintendent and
straw bosses seemed to be in panic. !;
At first some higher officials were
there but special session of the !,
grand jury was called to ascertain
why an unregistered lobby was being
maintained contrary to law. The !!
higher ups had business in New |
Y orb olccwhnro and ho forty !