Ogden Daily Standard | 1906-02-12 | Page 1 | Lodge Says Rate Bill is Bad

LOD h fb t S r ab i a RAT I 1 B 11 I 1 I 1 Is bad I 1 I 1 would displace the courts by executive committee washington feb 12 for the first time in two weeks week sir heyburn was in his seat when the senate was called to order today ills his absence has bas been due to an attack of appendicitis i from which he has almost recovered mr tillman from the committee on interstate commerce introduced a joint resolution directing the interstate commerce commission to investigate the alleged discrimination by railroad companies in the matter of I 1 transportation of coal and other com the resa resolution bullon N Is the result of the complaint against conditions in west virginia but that state is not specifically all y mentioned in the resolution mr patterson resigned as a member of the committee on privileges and elections and mr frazier was assigned to fill 1111 the vacancy mr air lodge then addressed the senate upon the railroad rate legislation he spoke to mr clays resolution on that subject and was listened to by aji ai audience that filled tho the galleries mr lodge announced his sup support jort of legislation tor for the control of railroad rates along the lines of the esch townsend bill of last session and said that he believed the practice of giving rebates to bo be the roost most serious of all the evils complained of he expressed the conviction that only by lc legislation along the lines suggested could government ownership be prevented lie he said that hat before entering upon the investigation of the question ho he had disposed of his railroad interests in order that his inquiry might be free from bias he expressed the opinion that the rate question is second only as an economical ono mical problem to the financial question and one of the most important ever before congress gress all were agreed eed he said as aa to what we as a people desire to do but the differences arise over the method of proceeding ce ile he was convinced that there are evils to be remedied in connection with the transportation system but pie pe problem consisted in finding fair and just means of dealing with them he passed over as an n established fact the right of congress to legislate for the regulation of the railroads the grievances against the roads he divided into th three ree classes as fol follows lowA rebates or discrimination between persons excessive rates tion ti on between localities he quoted statistics in an effort to fo show that freight rates are lower in the united states than in any other country and concluded that if no other grievance were presented there would be no cause for legislation and that in tho the matter of discrimination between localities it 1 is very difficult to 0 o interfere in behalf or of one place without doing injustice to others but that the only way to accomplish anything is 18 for the government to assume supervision of rate malting making he bonfe confessed sed the difficulty in dealing with the problems and said the fixing of rates tat es by the government would not cur cure e the evil and concluded that that id only be effected by a provision tor for the punishment of those who violate at e the law by giving rebates regarding regard gard ing rebates he said the robat rebates Cs have been a wrong and injustice to tile the people and a serious to the roans i injury dont think that it would tie be possible legislation too drastic vor for the to pass purpose 0 of f stopping these bombina eions between per persons sons we have a law now upon the statute books which so far as pr prohibition can go ought to be sufficient t it undoubtedly has largely abe checked ck ed rebates but it has not stopped t them hem entirely to make the law thoroughly effi efficient clent we ought to add in rny my judgment three provisions tons we should restore the former vs penalties I 1 of the Inter interstate commerce law N which should not have repealed and pa make ako these secret been evasions of the published rates punishable imprisonment the men Is by these thes evasions in defiance who perpetrate of 0 r the law suffer but little by a jine flap even it if it be a heavy one their are too large to make a resources one for penalty a serious money there are am persons persona tb this is very verv reason who would f foel acutely a punishment by imprisonment clit and that penalty I 1 ought to be provided in any law which we pass tir sir lodge ie reviewed viewed the experience ot of other governments including in most ost of the european countries canada and australia la in government control of rato rate malting making and added this examination shows us that it is not only entirely possible to abolish all discriminations between persons that is alt all rebates or undue preferences but that this has been actually and effectively accomplished in other countries it is now necessary to differentiate ferenti ate between the methods employed in the several countries for whether as in england railroad regulation has been effected through the establishment of a rail railway commission court or os as in franco france and germany by the simple operation of direct government control the conclusion on this point is tho the same it is proved beyond a doubt bt that personal discriminations can be utterly extirpated and if it has been in other countries it can be done here by suitable legislation on the second point of excessive rates the experience of oar other countries fr I 1 e s demonstrates that whatever good effects government rate making has had it has not lowered rates but upon the contrary has made them not only higher but where as in russia rates are low although not so low as ours the railroads are run 1 at a loss and the loss is made good out of the pockets of the taxpayers in i england with maximum rates fixed by preliminary schedule and the prohibition against raising rates without tile the consent of the railway comInIs commission sion court the rates are higher than ouis 1 inelastic and do not decline in accordance with the fall of prices or indeed I 1 I 1 in any substantial degree an on the continent of eur europe ope generally I 1 rates aro are fifty per cent higher than ours and show the same quality i of inflexibility a and x id the 66 s same ame I 1 lack JaW of adaptation to the changing conditions which we find in england we h have ave the lowest average freight rates in the and 1 l yet our railroad are run at a profit P r without of course coure a dollar of expense to the taxpayers government rate making in this country directed as it can only be against place discrimination and excessive rates therefore it if the experience of all the rest of the world is of any value and I 1 regard it as conclusive would either not reduce the rates at all or if it did reduce the rates generally it would destroy the profits of the roads and lower the wages of tho the employed emp loyes upon them unless we accepted the other alternative of government ownership with the roads run at a loss and the people taxed to carry them on the third and last point Is that of discrimination between localities that discrimination exist under our system which work injustice it would bo be folly to deny but it would be a still greater folly to establish a new series of discriminations working a larger injustice in the hope of curing the original inequalities whatever attempt to remedy plain discriminations wo we may make we should so guard it i as to avoid applying a lemerdy far I 1 worse than the di disease rease the exper lence fence of tho the world leads me to doubt I 1 most seriously whether any government I 1 rate making with a view to curing I 1 place discriminations can be effected without bringing a change for I 1 the worse but if it is to be tried at all it ought not to go beyond the fixing of a maximum in rate by the commission with the most absolute protection against hasty basty or prejudiced action through provision for foi an appeal to the courts of the country this gainly is as an far as we can safely go mr air lodge com batting the idea that the railroads sue ail owned by a few men and that they are inimical to and independent of all other interests said sal d awe we all want to see the settled and established sections of the country thrive but to the railroads the I 1 of such places Is a matter of life and death N V sudden and ill consider i ed revision in our methods of railroad management would bring on a business pan panic le reduce wages and probably carry dIs disaster asLer to our trade and commerce in a degree which it is I 1 s impossible to estimate esP mate for those reasons reason lie ho argued wo should proceed with the utmost ca caro re in railroad legislation and conch concluded I 1 ded wo we should have proper legislation in regard to the ralli oads ads there should be government supervision and I 1 regulation we should shoula stop the intolerable aclise of rebates or lions between per persons because if wo we do not we may find ourselves precipitated into that of all disasters go eminent ownership nut but it Is 11 equally essential that the legislation we undertake should not itself lead to government ownership the dangerous pitfall we are seeking to avoid it I 1 is vital that this legislation should succeed 1 but it if can only succeed by being effective against the evils which it can cure while it proceeds with the utmost I 1 caro care in these directions where experience has shown that roine of the reni remedies edles now apropo proposed aed havo have introduced evils far more unbearable and far more injurious than those which it was rought to io reh remedy iedy pointing out dangers to tile the proposed legislation lie he said the I 1 first of these Is found to ml in the possibility y of failing to to an effective remedy against per personal bonal ns that which is to bo be feared ns as to ro rebates bates ile he said is that the law will