Show AGREE THAT REBATES ARE ARF WRONG I II I 1 of th the Country Are A Against the Proposition of Rate ate Fixing by the InterState Commerce Commission I A Jan JaiL WASHINGTON V V Spencer the South Southern ern em railway and authorized to oice v te sentiment of oC the NewYork NeW York Central C Erie Chicago St S t Paul Nothern Pacific Illinois Cen ral t and other ther tc railway compan c tf s spoke vigoroUsly toda today be tore f ore the house committee on on interstate and a nd foreign commerce against the bill or any proposition to t o authorize the I Interstate commerce commerce commissIon c to fix railway rat rates Mr lr Spencer Is the first direct and official representative r of the railways to be h eard by the committee and his testimony mony m Is regarded as the kf ot of t the opposition o to rate fixing by the govern merit reent Mr Spencer stated at t e outs outset t that it I t Is not his purpose to the su sub j In Its entirety Th There Te were how howe e ver r a number of Important points Which he wished to emphasize Agreed Upon Re ates There is no difference of opinion Mr lIr Spencer between the railroads or of the countr country congress congre s and the president on the subject that ye re bates lre wrong We Ve agree with the or of the president that Uthe the highways of transportation must be bek k pt open to all upon equal t terms On that basis the railway companies are i rea ready and anxious to cooperate and aid the interstate commerce commiS aba slon But I do not think any additional legislation Is necessary in order to pro proceed against that particular class of I abuses It such legislation does appear to congress congre to be necessary the rail ways of the country will certainly stand and I have haye no hesitation in say ing so in cooperation and aim to that end That particular phase ot of regulation has already been pronounced by the theco co commission as fully covered by exist ing statutes It simply becomes a question or of enforcement of the law Ian But the question before you Is not or of that js is that or of the I power to name a rate upon the part Dart of I I the commission after complaint and aud I hearing It has been this will b be a moons means of stopping rebates This Claim Jaim I have no hesItatiOn n In lug Ing lugof or of the r remaining 10 per cent of the nork ork of the commission scarcely 2 per POl cent nt was the tho subject U Je t of litigation Mr 11 said the acquiesced In or of the tho decIsions of the corn com mt lon Confidence in Commission He r the confidence of Ir the tho rail way world Ia th the commission and it was justly worthy ot of th the r respect of the country There TheM only one OUE feature of the bill which he wished to dl discuss cus That was wa the pOwer upon pon the corn com mission minton to substitute arate a rate for one corn eom of as unreasonable after aCtor due notice the said rate to remain in effect I to change chanse only by the commissIon Or b by the courts on n application by the Mr Spencer denied that the commission ever ver legally had such suh power Dower an airs 1 said 1 th the courts In ISO had pro d the exercise of pow r by the commission It Is claimed ho con that this power would be a weapon In the hands ot of the commission slon to pr prevent v nt rebates But a rate fixed by the commission can be reb rebated ted or evaded just as easily as any other The Tho use ot of that weapon It if given to the commission would punish not the evader of the rate but the one which upheld the rate a as J exercise ot of the 1 power ow r would be to let the th rate down to the lower figure thus working no hardship on tho road ml J less Joss rate bUk gt f o q r lUlar rates E EThe i tJ The Tho most Important claim In beh r or of the proposition Mr t believed to o bf b e that such sueh a power would enable the commission c to prevent discrimination be between tween t localities This question or of adjust ing la g rates between betwee n he said laid was the he t most difficult lt and intricate of all The T he present system was the growth of oC natural n nc competition not only between 10 c whIch would ahva always s exist but between b railroads as well To disturb this his t to s system he maintained would not only o b be a task so fOO enormous that no state statement nent ment i could convey a or of It lut 1 tit would be Impossible or of satisfactory c In the hands of a bod body with a only to take Into consideration tr ion tion t th the one phase of 01 adjusting rates with r to their equalization so far Car as ashe the t he carrier was concerned and leaving Out o ut the question of comp competition between localities l If 11 authority should be granted tr there here t would not bl be a locality which would rot r ot immediately forth the claim that hat t It was discriminated against in order to t o secure additional advantages s Taking lii the subject or of unreasonable rat r ates 8 Mr Spencer ref referred to the state i mont m mm erit which had been made to the corn com commission mission m that rates WEre of 1 per e cent i tarl higher l In l 1903 than in 1 1850 mak a l n og a total mice I of 5 This I he to be true when the gross re me r were taken Into consideration He Heave rg Have g ave as a reason realon th the increase In the price p rice of commodities of every description and a ao nd consequently the cost or of operation of o f runways railways The n net t return to the roads had h ad been less Ires than In I |