Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-02-04
COMMISSIONER HORNE CHARGED
RAILROADS WITH coNsPIR.
AcY AGAINST STATE.
FIGHT TO PLACE SHIPPERS
OF INTERIOR ON EQUALITY
Thorne Shows Manufactured Products
Of Chicago Exceed in Value Those Of
All Iowa Cities More Than Five
Times-lnterstate Commerce com-
mission Charged With Inconsistency.
special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times-Republican.
Des Moines, Feb. 4.-Clifford c.
Thorne, chairman of the Iowa board Of
railroad commissioners, charged that
the railroads have blacklisted Iowa in
the remarks he made yesterday at the
opening Of the rate hearing on inter-
ior Iowa cities rates. The hearing is
being held at. the Federal building
here before Examiner Hagerty, of the
interstate commerce commission. Rep
resentatives from a number of Iowa
cities are attending the hearing.
This is a fight to place the manu-
facturers and jobbers located at the in
terror: cities of Iowa upon an equality
with those of neighboring states and
with those located on the Mississippi
and Missouri rivers" said Commits
sioner Thorne in opening the case for
the shippers. I'VE are also struggling
to place Iowa cities located upon the
Mississippi river on an equality with
st. Louis. SO
THE railroads have Dlacklisted Iowa.
The value Of the manufactured product
in the one city of Chicago is five times
that of all the cities of Iowa put to-
gether. The value of the manufactured
products in St. Louis is greater than
that of all the cities in Iowa put to-
gether altho she has population less
than one-third that of Iowa
almost every state touching Iowa
has one or more large commercial CEN
tiers. On the north the Twin Cities, en-
the east Milwaukee, Chicago and Pc
oria; on the south ST. Louis and Kan
sas City, and on the west Omaha.
1.-The last census showed Iowa to be
the only state in the union which lost
population during the preceding ten
years. We believe the chief cause for
this remarkable situation in the artifi-
cial freight rate structure which has
paralyzed the Industrial development of
our state. We have number of sue
cessful enterprises. They have been
successful in spite of this unjust sit.
uation which exists.
Our efforts to place Iowa cities upon
an equality with those of neighboring
states has been long, hard contest.
For generation Iowa manufacturers
and jobbers tried peaceful means to
persuade the railroads to give them Il
square deal. Six years ago 1t was de-
cided to ask the interstate commerce
commission to help us.
Federal Board Incompetent.
1.-The commission rendered two adj
mirable decisions recognizing princi-'
pies which we believe are sound and
just But when it came to make prac-
teal application of those principles to
the actual rates, the railroads gave
heed to some Of. them and totally disre-
garded others. And yet the interstate
commerce commission approved the
rates proposed by the railroads. We be-
lieve that possibly such a length of
time has elapsed between the intro
duction of the evidence and the final
submission of the case that the com
mission overlooked certain fundamental
facts in the Iowa situation, or at least
failed to appreciate the relative impor-
lance of those principles which the
commission itself had formally adopted.
For these reasons we have asked for
this second opportunity to place the
Iowa situation before the interstate
commerce commission. and we shall
ask for. more specific order by the