The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-04-15
IS CLIFFORD THORNE
A GOOD INVESTMENT?
alone they have saved Iowa more
than $4,OOO,O 900.

than $4,0OO,O0O.
Third, the placing of the upper MIS-
sissippi river crossings on parity
with St Louis on traffic from the At
| lantic seaboard for the first time IN
the history of our state. Concerning
this case, Mr.. C. C. Mccain, chairman
of the trunk line committee, composed
| of all great eastern railroads, said II
| was the most radical modification OF
the system of freight rates between
the Atlantic seaboard and the Missis-
sippi river that had ever been made.
In addition to these things, Thorne
was attorney for the Corn Belt Meat
Producers association when they Sc
cured the first general revision OF live
stock rates from all Iowa towns to
Chicago, and also when they secured
the first general revision of freight
rates from all Iowa towns to the Iowa
packers. The latter reduction amount
ed to approximately IS percent and
was much greater than the reduction
secured to Chicago. These were the
first and the last revisions that have
ever been made Of live stock rates In
this territory.
Thorne was also chairman of the
committee representing sixteen states
that secured the first general reyfs-
ion of any entire freight classification
that has ever been made by the In
terstate commerce commission. Incl
dental to this, an advance on silos OF
so percent and on over 80 percent OF
the traffic on binding Irvine was pre-
vented, an advance that would have
amounted to approximately 100 per-
cent. In the recent advanced rate
case the commission permitted adj
vances on 45 percent OF the traffic
and denied it on SIS percent of the
tonnage involved.
One of the most important tasks
that Thorne ever performed has been
with the help of the meat producers
and grain men, the writing and pass
age of the commerce counsel law,
which will furnish an advocate for
the public before the state commits
sion and the interstate commerce
commission now and in future years.
The. entire nation Is familiar with
his leading the fight against the east
ern railroads petition for higher rates
last year and his successful prosecu-
ton of It, He made every eastern
railroad expert and president admit
their case had no foundation in fact.
That the interstate commerce commits
sion. under duress and having been
packed, decided contrary to all the
facts and evidence was not the fault
Of Mr.. Thorne.
Still more recently proposed adj
vance on rates affecting Iowa was
suspended for four months, due to
Thorne's work-a saving of 100000
to Iowa shippers. The plain truth is
that until Thorne came to the Iowa
board of railroad commissioners It
was nonetity. Thorne was elected
on that very issue. A law passed by
the state legislature in 1907 required
the state railroad commission to
prosecute cases before the interstate
commerce commission which affected
Iowa, and the law hadn't been lived
I'D to. Thorne made his fight for
election to the state board upon the
issue that the law should be lived up
to. and the shippers of Iowa given q
spokesman.
The thing that hurts and rankies
Thorne's critics, both within and with
out newspaper sanctums, is not his
being an expense to the people. but a
very great expense to railroads. which
have been and still are trying to
gouge the public through the medium
of the intricate freight tariff sheet.
which nobody but an expert like
Thorne can decipher.