OCR Text |
Show RAISE STOPPED", SUITS DROPPED. The interposition of the Government has, for the present at lonst, staved off the raiso of railroad rates that tho different dif-ferent companies had schodulcd to put into effect on Juno 1st on westbound freights. Tt will bo extremely gratifying grati-fying to tho people to find that the. Government is powerful enough lo in-iervenn in-iervenn effectually in a enso Jiko this. Tho intervention will aavo to tho shippers ship-pers millions of dollars. And all the time the railroads have been roporting increased earnings. The agreement reached between the Government ami the railroads is that nothing will bo done by way of raising rais-ing tho rntos for tho present; that (Ik railroad bill now ponding in Congress will be passed, ami I hen the matter will bo more complcte.lv within the jurisdiction jur-isdiction of Iho rnlerstale Commorce Commission, and whatever tho railroads dosiro to do will then be subject to the control of that commission and to tho doubtful provisions of (lie new railroad rail-road law. This would indicate decidedly that, the railroads consider the now law more favorable fo them than tho law is at present. We believe this to bo the case, and havo said so heretofore. The provisos inserted by tho Senate after the long and short haul .section of iho bill effectively kill tho intended meaning mean-ing of tho section as framed by the I rouse, We aro aware that this is denied de-nied in some quarters, but the plain reading of the provisos in connection ,wi.th tho section referred to seems conclusive con-clusive upon tho point. Tho railroads .under that section as provisocd will bo .able to do precisely what they are able to "do now. To be sure, what I Hey aro able to do now will !o: more lirectly .subject fo tho control of Iho lniortate Coininerco Commission than heretofore, but still (ho law as it wi s;nd wifh these provisos, will give the roads the same old latitude. In tho meantime thcru is lo be no raise of rales, and at the very worst we shall bo as well oil' is n-: aro now. Wo had hoped for something imp-oved, and wo believe that on iho showing made in our case now pending, the Interstate In-terstate Commerce Commission i.- bound to give us relief; and as Mio new railroad rail-road bill gives the Iiitcrstuto Commerce Commission greater power, anthciity, and control than heretofore, our hopr for relief should be orrespondingl'? bright. |