Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-06-29
THE PUBLIC GETS THE WHALEBONE

The Interstate Commerce Commission has ordered
that effectuaI September first the rates on through
freight to coast points from the east shall be raised Its
reasons for this are it to rather unreasonable
Blackstone in his learned commentaries mentioned
among other prerogatives of the king that the whale
was "a royal fish," and if caught within certain dis
tance of the English coast was the kings property lie
adds that the fish animal divided the head gong
to the king and the tail to the queen For this he gave
reason as sensible as that advanced by the commission
for increasing rates He said the division was made in
this way in order to provide Whaebone for the queens
wardrobe The becomes somewhat forceess when
it is remembered that the whale bone comes not from the
tail, but the head.
The commission says the closing of the canal and the
high ocean charters elsewhere have drawn the vessels
formerly trading through the canal to other points, and
that Just there is competition between the rail-
roads and the vessels, for coast to coast freight
1t says it wants to encourage the vessels to return to
the route and so increases the freight rate on the rail
roads in order to induce them to do 1t seems to over
look the fact that the canal built for the purpose
of reducing freight rates not for increasing them 1t
Overooks the fact that the people of the Pacific coast are
not interested in who carries their goods to market OF
brings their purchases them They dO not care whether
these wares or products carried through the canal
or over the railroads. What they are deeply interested
in is reasonable transportation rates.
The opening Of the canal gave them these. When the
railroads were brought into competition with the water
route they were content to have their rates reduced to
meet those made by the canal They carried freight both
ways from coast to coast at these reduced rates and were
apparently glad to get the chance,
If they could carry goods at the price made ON ac-
count of the opening of the canal why should they be
ordered by the commission to take advantage or tenn
pora1y obstruction to navigation, and be allowed to
again charge all the traffic will bear? Did the closing of
the canal by a slide make the cost Of hauling any greater
to the railroads?
Did the temporary closing of the canal cost them any
thing or increase the cost of their services IN any way?
If they could haul freight at a given rate while the
canal was in operation can they not haul it at the same
rate while it is closed?
How could the slide in the Cueebra cut in any way
affect the cost of railroad transportation?
1t looks like it was simply the giving permission to
the railroads to cinch the public just long as the canal
could not interfere with them and considerably longer
he new rates are not to go into effect until September
but Colonel GoehaS says the canal will never again be
closed and while is not open for the largest vessels yet
it permits ships drawing, as we remember It, % feet
1t is expected the canal will be open Tor the big ones
by the time the new schedules permitted by the commS-
sion 90 into effect.
When the new rates take effect the reasons for per
hitting them will have been removed and conditions will
be the same as they were before the raise permitted
1t will take long time to change the schedule again and
the result will be the railroads will be compelled to chage
the higher rate long after the canal is opened.
To the average it seems ridiculous to alege that
the railroads cannot carry freight cheapy now as they
could when the canal was Open 1t also looks queer
that the roads should be permitted to take advantage OF
an accident to their competitor to increase their rates
To some it will look than queer and will have
a decidedly crooked appearance 1t will seem to them
that the commission is giving the people the tail of the
transaction presenting them the whaebOne there is in it.