Arizona republican., 1921-11-20
W. Do No. w.n. to ,. coddl.d

IL was from the intermediate country that MT. Paul P. Hastings made his greatest advance toward the top of the railroad ladder-from Prescott and Phoenix. It might have been supposed that MT. Hastings then learned the needs of intermediate country and sympathzed with them It is with regret and disappointment that learn that he is fore most among the railroad who are urging runous discrimination against this region.
 He washed his hands of us at the Chicago hear ing by declining ito act for the indus tries of the Middle West" We are not asking for the ministrations of wet nurse. So far have been raised by hand" hardly raised" at all but rather '.jerked up" and by rather rough railroad hand. Nothing has to which the railroads could very well withhold from We have certain ly never been coddled. We do not expect now to nurse the breasts of the railroad. We desire only right exist and be free. We shall not be if the plans of the transcontinenta1 railroads to lower rnodtes. :.
 Mr. Hastings when questioned to the rates of intermediate region told the Interstate Commerce examiner that they reasonably low" In the next breath he told the examiner that the proposed transcontinental rates would be reasonably com pensatory." In that layman would suppose that the intermediate rates. being much higher than the proposed through rates would be unreasonably and extravagantly compensatory to the railroads.
 
 should the roads desire to put them in? They tell to meet water competition. But if it be met only at a oss or without profit, what is the in meeting 1t? But MT Hastings assures that there will be no loss to the roads. If then the through rates are compensatory why should intermediate points mulcted by higher rates for shorter hauls?
 If the so called through rate through rate In fact to meet water competition objection to 1t would be robbed of part. but not all of its force But we who are not railroad experts cannot under stand how water rates can be in competition with rail rates between Chicago and coast points; why the rate from Chicago to any point west of Kansas City and east of the Pacific should higher than . Pacific termnal.
 At the hearing Friday mention was made of the rail and water rate from Chicago in compeu ton with all rail rate There is of course such . competition to many commodities out of Chi- eago, there extremely few commodities which would be shipped to New York and thence to the Pacific by water. though the combined rate were lower than the rail rate.
 This combined rate was mentioned in connection with the shipment of pianos. We remember several years ago at an interstate hearing in Phoe nix before Examiner Lyon, who by the Is now representing a steamship line in opposition to the proposed through rate, the plano was mentioned then as commodity in competition. The statement was made and admitted to be true that pianos were shipped by water when 1t was possible to ship them by rail. account of the deteriorating effect travel. It is so with many other com modities, which could not be shipped by time con- suing sea routes and would never be so shipped re- gardless of rates.
 We of the intermountain and Midwest region have no interest in the fight between the steamship lines and the through roads We comparatively little about except that they shall not dis rriminate against and we want them only low enough that commodities may be moved to the markets But the main thing so far as concerns rs of the ntermountain region is that shall not becoma victims of discrimination in favor of the Pa cific coast just as is the desire of the Mid West regicn that they shall be chained to Chicago ter ritory.