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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1917)
SEPTEMBER, .1917. The Commoner The Great Advance Rate Case By S. W. Brookhart, Washington, .Iowa. When the supreme court sustained the Adam Bon eight hour law the railroads immediately made it the basis for an advance in freight rates. The law provided for a special commis sion to observo its workings, effect and cost and required this commission to report back to con gress. The railroads Ignored this provision of the law and asserted, that the increased expense because of the eight hour day and because of war prices for coal and material, had oreated an emergency and they demanded an immediate advance of fifteen per cent on all freight rates except coal, coke and ore and they asked certain specific advances upon these. Based upon the 1916 tonnage the total advance would have cost the American people the stupendous sum of over 300 million dollars per year. This is an annual charge greater by many million, dollars than the interest on the great seven billion dollar war loan. The railroads also demanded that these rates be put into effect immediately without investigation.- This is therefore, the greatest rate case that has ever been presented to the inter state commerce commission. It involved a greater sum than all of the other advance rate cases combined. In fact the writer does not re call any instance in all history where any civil tribunal was called upon to decide a single con troversy involving such a large amount. TLe shippers of the country were arouseC in spite of the fact that the great newspapers gen erally took the view of the railroads and con ceded them the advance. A national conference of shippers was held in Chicago. They selected Clifford Thome to present their case to the com mission and gave him as assistants Luther M. Walter, Graddy Cary, 31yde L. King and that veteran attorney of the people, Judge S. H. Cowan of Fort Worth, Texas. The railroads were represented by a host of iegal talent and rate experts led by Mr. Patterson, the general attorney of the Pennsylvania. It was a battle of giants from first to last and involved more than giant amounts. The railroads claimed the Adamson law would increase their expenses 60 or 60 million dollars per year. They also claimed an enormous in crease in the cost of supplies and for these rea sons asserted they did not get a reasonable re turn upon their property investment and as a result their credit and efficiency were greatly impaired. To meet these claims Mr. Thorne delved into the facts with the thoroughness that has made him the wizard of' rate regulation in the United States. He frankly 'admitted an in crease in the cost of both labor and supplies, but conclusively showed this had been offset many times by the increase in the volume of business. For the year 1916 after paying all the increased expenses for that year the railroads had the greatest net earnings in all their history. They had 300 million dollars more than 1915 and 200 million dollars more than the best year they ever had. The month of January, 1917, was the best January in all their history, but their net earn ings fell off in February. It was this particular decline which they cited as an emergency, but oerore the case was closed the returns for March came in greater than any March, except 1916 and then April followed greater even than 1916. since the decision of the case May arid June have followed like April. Mr. Thorne also showed that the carriers handling over two-thirds of the traffic in the United States have declared reason able dividends on all their stock and have ac cumulated a surplus of over a thousand million dollars besides. He upset their theory of prop erty investment, Bhowed it to be a fiction of book Keeping and no proper basis of claiming a re turn. For instance during the past ten years the Pennsylvania has added $211,229,265 out of earnings and there is another item of 133 mil lion dollars not accounted for by the increase in capital obligations, but it is certain the property investment should be reduced by the amount of the first item. Upon' the 'question of credit he asked the railroads to furnish the commission with a statement of the bonds they had sold and tho rate of intercut raid i, ..,.. MO?!?."' a"d h0r '" """ aT" 1914 ! ! 5.3 per cent 1915 5, Per cent 1916 ! ,', 4,s l)er cent 1917 . 7,7, 4,G ncr cent an?lYi?rC it 'ZrTlM tion to this lu Urovoa t?,eV,0U,!. yeaP8 In N" to be sleadier ami ?? Cr,C(lit of thc broads au already bought much of their sunnlies fur SVaiiv ofarHet (1U?tati0ns' IIe w mat many of the coal mines. are owned bv tho coal is a direct increase of their profits. T.ie case was submitted early in June and decided the last day. The advance was denied and the rates suspended. Certain increases were IS, the eastern roads on coal and class rates amounting to from two to four per cent upon their freight traffic, but the total amount denied is over 300 million dollars per year. This is a direct saving of that amount to the people of tho United States and it leaves the railrqads more prosperous than they have ever been. It has prevented the grossest kind of an extortion when the nation was absorbed in war. It is the best vindication of public .-egulation of the railroads. THE RECALL OF JOPLIN'S MAYOR It is a regrettable occurrence which takes Hugh Mclndoe of Joplin out of the office of mayor, because he has made a splendid record. But.the people of Joplin recalled him, and they have the right to say whether or not any citizen shall serve them in any office. Mr. Mclndoe, him self, approved the recall section of the Joplin charter, and has supported it through all his ad ministration as mayor. The incident that caused his recall was not an act of his own, but one of his appointees. Mr. Mclndoe refused to discharge two mem ers of the police force after the Masonic 'orders of tho city and other secret societies had filed criminal charges against them for brutal treatment. Mr. Mclndoe took the ground that to discharge them would be equivalent to declaring them guilty before their trial. The people of Joplin must have been highly incensed at the action of the policemen, and at Mrf Mclndoe for standing by them, or else they would not have gone to the limit of recalling such an efficient mayor. In time Joplin will remember only the fact that Mr. Mclndoe instituted commission govern ment in that city, and lain the foundation for a system of efficiency such as Joplin had never known before in its government. The work he has accomplished for the city will not be cloud ed for long by the anger that was created against him in the recall. As to the merits-4f-Jthe. case, this paper does not knoWjawTTtdoes not matter. Joplin alone is the-tTdge of whether or not the grounds were sufficient for the recall. But The Star feels Hire that the cause was not so serious but that it soon will be blotted out entirely by the mem ory of the good service Mr. Mclndoe has ren dered the city. Kansas City Star. a r MR. BRYAN A CONTRIBUTOR ittmii. Tnltim TlrvnTi vno O.nlnnp flnlln- nan in ijuiuavwc, i.m.uwv i - Associated Press" carried a notice that the Knights or uoiumDur nau avvivi"1 uo Million Dollars for recreation centres in Army Camps He remarked to Colonel Callahan: "I presume the contributions will be confined to Catholics." Colonel Callahan replied, "Yes, I suppose so, in the same way that contributions to the Y M. C. A. Fund were confineJ to Prot ectants " Mr. Bryan replied by saying, "Put me down as a contributor to the Knights of Colum ns Fund in the amount of ten dollars per month while the warulasts."-The. Columbiad. ALL THREE -Good sense, good logic and good American in Ib the New York Sun's characterization of Z Hon WHliam J. Bryan's rebuke to those who Sse the privilege of freedom of speech. PATRIOTISM POM THE COMMONER lv ?ol!nw!!il0n' f0r ?omo of U8' haB B0 Infrequent oDDortSnSi ,CrUflal 0f Mr' Uryan'8 WW. nd o portunlty to agree with tho sentiments and so ?are8th?irM8C'd '? Mr' Dryan ,n ,l " mlttinn ,, , VPeclal Pwuro In ad- miuingnn, proclaiming that every trood tho Z Jn qUf ,0n w,u BCt holh io fooling and l Ln Ucg? Ju8t mentioned. For In It Mr me" v SmM l0B l? iOUnd0il of doctr,n" on two' uinel und Important subjects. reilXf tlhem I U,C con(luct of t,,0 wo aro 8 ""J enforcement of the selective draft exan c Tho ?, ,IIC l0 ?U,0r8 to Un iolr m,i ?n Ihe10t!!er Hc misbehavior of tho speeches IU tM couuiry h '"uking seditious acS"uc,X!,rMr'ABryan ?ndcmn will, char dnin is ' L ? regard resistance of tho draft, he admits- the possibility that conscience K?Sltoito!tV l0 oboy ft"y ,aw b w fn y ,,mt lhe mnn wno (1oob It must take whatever consequences in the shape of punish men the law provides, whether It ,0 Imnrlso -ment or death. This, he writes, "is a govern: meat of tho noopl not of one or a fL" mo ,"" and If a few are permitted to resist a law-L any law-bocauM they do not like t, govern- a last resort, just as we all should, and as pU'!f maJOrIty (lf M d0' "ml he thinks "a reflection upon civilization that It still reddens he earth ' which no sane man will deny! jjuJ ll 'wSl a!! Ra'8 ,hnt " ,onfc' 8 "ftl'" duty " '" Ca" "0t C8Cai)0 u c,t,ztIl' Concerning freedom of speech, Mr. Hryan de- SomL1 nati,l,iMImo fr d,cnB whelher or not the United States should enter the war end- ed when congress deeded that it must. No sym pathy, ho says, should be wasted on those who in the name of free speech assail thilr own gov ernment's deliberately taken policies, and at tacks on our allies aro JuH ai bad. "We must." ho concludes, "stand together and fight It through. There are only two Hides to a warevery Amer ican must be on thc s'de of tho United SUUs," Tliero ia as Halo comfort in Tho Commoner fpr the professional foes of England as (hero la for t'c pro-Germans who call themselves pa cifists. New York Times. COULDN'T BIO JMf'HOVKD OX Mr. Bryan's statement, "Abusing Freo Spetch," ln tho last issue of The Commoner couldn't be improved on. Sub-traitors and ham stringers who have imagfned that the mere phrase, "free speech," was so seductive that thoy .might hope for a little tolerance from a man of Mr. Bryan's liberal tendencies find their hope rudely shattered. Mr. Bryan tells them that after war a de clared discussion as to Its wisdom must ccaso; that no attacks on this government or Its allies or aid to the enemy under the cloak of free speech can be tolerated; that there are only two sides to a war and that every American must be on the side of the United States, and that no sympathy will be wasted on those who have been arrested for unpatriotic utterances. Thus the path of the sub-traitor becomes harder every day. Wherever he turns the skies are brass and iron. He lifts up his eyes to the hills for succor and a voice from the hills tells him to shut up or suffer the consequences. Tho federal marshal Is becoming a fixed feature of his landscape. Chicago Herald. TEXT OF PRESIDENT'S PLEDGE TO RUSSIA A Washington dispatch, dated August 27, says: Following Is the text of President Wilson's mes sage to Moscow conference of Russians: To the President of the National Council of Assembly, Moscow, Russia: I jtake the liberty to send to the members of the great council now meeting in Moscow, Rus sia, Ithe cordial greetings of their friends, tho people the United States, and to express their utmost confidence in the ultimate triumph of the ideals of democracy and self-government against all enemies, within and without, and to grvo their renewed assurance of every material and moral assistance they can extend to the .govern ment of Russia in the promotion of the common cause in which the two nations are unselfishly unitedr (Signed) WOODROW WILSON. n j&ittteh- v