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Show ;PU!l!1 Railroad Attorneys Consider Con-sider Long. and Short Haul Law 1 I Boston, Aug. tl. A decislou has been reached at the conference of attorneys at-torneys for the leading railroads - oi the country at Hotel Wentworth. Newcastle, New-castle, N. II., on the new rate bill. , This decision Is believed by Ihe attorneys at-torneys assembled to be of the great- . est importance to many of the large I industries of the country. It has ret I erence to the long and short haul sec ' lion of the Hepburn interstate com I i tree act as amended by the recent ; ly signed Mann-Klklns bill. The lea I of the lailroads is that a narrow lr I te-rpretatlon ot the language of 'h j ection would prevent them tn.i; I making a lower rate on goods to, export than tor goods for eloniesCi J coiisumpt Ion. j I'M gar .1. Rich of Boston, genera j 'solicitor for the Boston & Majin-: j lailroad. said. ; "A ruling by the courts that tie lailroads could not make a lowe i rate for export freight would nieai i that several lmlustri?s such as steel I coal, meat and grain, would be pl.u j e, in a position where thev could n ' lueet the foreign competition. ft ! would mean that the country woui4 j bn tilled with idle mills, thousand-cf thousand-cf men out of employment and stas nation and ruin to tnousands. ' After considering the subject care lully th conference a'ilhorl.:eil th'.. t lateriieiit . , It in understood that tic genera! ! sentiment is lhat such an interproitf-iion interproitf-iion is not justified by the spirit r event by ihe letter of the act an! there is substantial unanimity' o: opinion tint no iiiisarraugeiiient ot our foreign business will result from compliance with th- act." |