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Show avoided havInK approval construed as a decision favoring the rates. Ho stamped the railroad tariff shoot system as "abominably, complicated, u'nwloldlv and unnecessary." adding that the bill would aid In simplifying; this Acknowledging thai, this provix-ion provix-ion was not entirely, satisfactory to the shippers, he explained that it at the name time avoided opening wide the door to rebates ' Congressman Mann Explains Ex-plains Features of the New Legislation Washington, April 12 The opening gun in the battle in the house over the railroad bill was lirod today by Representative Mann of Illinois, chairman chair-man of the Interstate Commerce committee, com-mittee, which rsportcd the measure after a thorough revision of its text. Mr. Mann declared that railroad transportation Is an industrial necessity neces-sity and not a mere convenience. "With a full realization," he said, "of the benefits and tbe necessity of wise and successful management, operation op-eration and progressive construction of ouc railways, we alo realize that in tho benefits that they confer upon the people, they are servants and not masters. It Is their duty to treat all persons equally; it Is their due that they be treated with fairness and reasonable reas-onable consideration by the government govern-ment and by the people; and it Is our due that they shall treat fairly all thoxo who deal with them and that they shall furnish, with reasonable diligence, dil-igence, those advantages of convenience conven-ience and economical transportation for which they are constructed and operated under favors granted by tho states " Mr. Mann declared that the Elklng aud Hepburn laws were mainly effective effec-tive and had not been followed by th "disasters" that had been so freely free-ly predicted Under the wise leadership, declared declar-ed Mr. Mann, "'of Iho great statesman states-man now in the White House, who himself served aB a Judge on the federal fed-eral bench in construction and enforcing enforc-ing the commerce act, we are now considering con-sidering propositions somewhat in advance of those herotoforo mado Into law." Mann said the bill would give greater expedition to justice, greater advantage on even terms to all shippers, ship-pers, greater security to those who care to Invest their money In railway rail-way stocks and bond6 and greater protection pro-tection to those railroads whose managements man-agements desire to operate them efficiently ef-ficiently in the Interest of the people. He summarized the proposjtlons la-volved la-volved In the pending bill under three I general heads; These were, first, spocdy determination of disputes by tho creation of the commerce court, with expert Judges having no greater Jurisdiction than the circuit courts now have; sscond. enlarging the statutory stat-utory duties of the railways and the . rights of shippers and increasing the powers of the Interstate commerce commission,' so that classification, regulations reg-ulations and practices shall be just and euXorcabl' as such; third, regulating reg-ulating tho consolidation of railroads and their lisues of stocks and bonds so that competition may he kept open as far as possible and rates shall not bo maintained unreasonably high in order to pay returns upon excessive capitalization- v . Mr. Mann said that the bill eliminated elim-inated jtccrot agreements between railroads rail-roads as" to- classifications and rates by requiring the filing of such agree- ments. but by not authorizing advance approval of them by the commission it |