mum
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A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO
Vol. 18. No. 925.
DFFY IflW OF KANSAS
RAILROADS FIX RATES TO SUIT
STANDARD OIL.
Action Intended to Affect Disastrously
the Independent Interests Which
Have No Pipe Lines and to Help
the Rockefeller Monopoly.
Kansas City, Mo. Representatives
of all; the railroads of Kansas met
here and fixed a new schedule of oil
freight rates in Kansas in defiance of
the maximum freight rate law passed
by the last Kansas legislature. The
schedule agreed upon amounts to an
increase of 50 per cent of the present
schedule, which has seen in effect
since the . passage of the maximum
freight rate law. '
Will Help Standard
The new rate will he about the
same as the one in effect before the
maximum rate law was passed. It
is said that the action of the Kansas
railway traffic officials will affect the
independent oil shippers of Kansas
more disastrously than any of the oth
er patrons of Kansas railroads. -The
Standard Oil company, having a mo
nopoly on oil . tanks and pipe lines
will not suffer from the new schedule
of freight rates as will the independ
ent oil men who are forced to ship
their oil in barrels. ..'- " -
Rogers' Time Coming
New York. Application for an or
der requiring Henry H. Rogers to an
swer the questions which he has re
fused to answer in the Missouri-Standard
Oil inquiry was made to Supreme
Court Justice Gildersleeve by Henry
Wollman, representing the state of
Missouri. Justice Gildersleeve "put
the case over until next Monday, ask
ing that Mr. Wollman at that time
have ready a certified copy of the de
cision of the Missouri court in a case
similar to this one.
RAILROAD PASSES IN ITALY
Free Transportation and Reduced
Rates Cause Discussion
Italy, like the United States, is in
the throes of a free pass agitation.
Only what makes the situation so diffi
cult to deal with here is the fact that
the railroads are in many . instances
owned by the government. J
According to the latest decisions of
the officials in, charge of the state
railways, many changes in the free
pass system have already been made.
The privileges of free passes will be
given to. all senators, deputies and
their families. The term family in
this and in other cases is held to com
prise wives, mothers and fathers or
granaparems, sons up iu me ase ui
twenty-five, unmarried or widowed
daughters and daughters-in-law, as
weli as two servants. It will be given
POLITICS,; AGRICULTURE AND HOME
Lincoln, Nebraska,
to the. wives and widows of all Knights
of, the Order of the Annuziata and
to a few court officials, under-secretar-ies
of state who are not members of
parliament, the president and the sec
tional presidents of the councils of
public works, railway functionaries
and ex-functionaries above a certain
rank and to the first secretaries of the
prime minister and minister of public
works. It should be remembered that
the railway pass of a senator or dep
uty carries with it the rights to a re
served carriage. Free passes upon
particular railways or portions of rail
ways are given to officials and func
tionaries connected with them or with
other railways apart from actual mem
bers of the railway administration; al
so to orphans of railway agents for
the purpose of instruction.
? In addition, Italian journalists and
correspondents of " the chief foreign
newspapers have a right to three rail
way tickets at reduced rates In the
course of the year, and to one free
ticket in the same period which will
also be available for their families.
The minister of public works has in
addition the right to Issue every
month- sixty gratuitous tickets each
available for, five people for a single
journey, and 100 tickets every month
at reduced rate; which may be given
to persons who have deser.ved such
privileges by reason of services ren
dered to the state or the railway. This
order, if enforced as it stands, will
greatly restrict the number of gratui
tous travelers.
VICE FIGHTS THE REFERENDUM
Gambling and Liquor, Elements In
San Diego Fear It
There Is an interesting fight going
on ;: in San Diego, California, , on ; the
constitutionality of the referendum
system for cities in that state and the
legal controversy has been appealed
to the supreme court. The "wide
open" element are endeavoring to in
corporate in the laws of the munici
pality a provision legalizing gambling
and another provision to overcome the
referendum vote approving the regu
lation of the liquor traffic.
The opponents of the referendum
system nearly always have axes to
grind to be used for grafting purposes
on the taxpayers or people.
UNION PACIFIC TO CUT MELON
Plan Being Considered to Distribute
Some of the Surplus. "
Although leading directors of the
Union Pacific railroad, insist that no
special distribution to stockholders will
be made in the near' future, it is
learned that a definite plan is under
consideration for such a distribution
later on.
. The Union Pacific company ,. has
treasury assets amounting to more
than $180,000,000 and about one-half of
this amount is to be distributed among
the shareholders sooner or later prob
ably in the form ot a scrip dividend.
Each stockholder of record may pos
sibly receive 35 or 40 per cent of his
stock holdingg in new Union Pacific
4 per cent preferred stock.
: Official denials that no Important
March 1, 1906
developments need be expected In
Union Pacific affairs are technically
correct, for the reason that this plan
is being considered informally and is
yet in an unfinished state.
The principal stockholders of the
company, it is asserted, favor the
distribution of preferred stock rather
than cash for the reason that the
Union Pacific will require an expendi
ture of about $75,000,000 of cash to
carry on new construction and to pay
for its share of the expense of build
ing the Los Angeles Salt Lake and
Pacific railroad.
It is understood that the Union Pa
cific company has sold almost all of
its holdings of Great Northern and
Northern Pacific. A profit of nearly
$80,000,000 was realized on the original
purchase of Northern Pacific stock
made during the memorable May cor
ner four years ago.
KAISER TO MAKE CONCESSIONS
Prefers to Grant Some Claims Rather
Than Go to War
Berlin. The German; government
has decided to make a further con
cession to the French views on the
Morroccan question provided France
will also yield something. The ex
tent of Germany's proposals will be
come known only at Algeciras, where
they will be communicated to the
French delegates. Emperor William
Chancellor von Beulow, it , is under
stood, would rather make another ef
fort to reconcile the French aims and
Germany's interests than allow the
serious situation to drift.
Some effort has been made here by
certain, small financiers to create a
war scare out of the emperor's reply
to the congratulatory address of . the
generals yesterday on the occasion of
mV majesty's silver wedding, in which
the emperor remarked that he prayed
God that war would not come, but if
it came he was convinced that the
army woul dacquit itself as efficiently
as it did thirty-five years ago.
The tone of the bourse was not af
fected by these efforts although the
market was weaker, owing to the un
certainty over the effect of the new
German tariff and the commercial
treaties" going itno effect JVIarch 1.
Grosvenor is Defeated
In the convention of the Eleventh
Ohio congressional district, Albert C.
Douglas of Chillicothe defeated Charles
H. Grosvenor for the republican nom
ination on the first ballot by a vote
of 78 to 20. -
The "Sage of Athens" has been
shorn of t power. - The halls of con
gress, which ha'e held him for twenty
years, will no more resound with his
oratory. In the seventy-third year of
his eventful life and the thirty-fifth of
his public service, he was forced into
retirement.
v ' ' ' "
Send $1.00 for a year's subscription
to The Independent and receive . Mr.
Berge's book, "The Free Pass Bribery
System," free as a premium. This
offer will remain but a short time.
LIFE
Subscription $1.00
RATE ISSUE IN SENATE
SENATOR TILLMAN LEADS IN
BATTLE FOR REGULATION.
Unprecedented Honor Conferred Upon
the Aggressive Southerner is Re
garded Curiously in View of his
Recent Attack on the President.
Washington, D. C., (Special) If
there was any irresolution on the part
ot democratic members of the senate
interstate commerce commission it
did not appear when the vote was
taken on the rate regulation bill
passed by the house. All the demo
cratic members voted solidly to re
port the Hepburn bill and were sup
ported by three republican members,
Dolliver,": Clapp and Cullom. Elkins,
Aldrich, Kean, Foraker and Crane,
as was expected, cast their votes
against the house measure. The
minority . were able to add to the
resolution recommending the Hepburn
bill a clause which gives all the mem
bers of the interstate commerce com
mittee freedom of action on the floor
of the senate.
Sensitive to Public Opinion
After the committee meeting four
of the minority senators sought to
forestall criticism by announcing
that had the bill contained a provision
for review by the courts of the com
mission's findings they would have
voted with the majority. This sensi
tiveness has created no little amuse
ment among those who understand
the "essence" of rate legislation. , No
measure can take from the railways
the constitutional right to enjoin
unreasonable rates and to appeal to
the courts. So great is this power
that the friends of rate regulation
fear that it will render even the
Hepburn measure, if it becomes a
law, too weak .to cope adequately
with rate abuses. A special provision
for review by the courts, such as was
advocated by the minority, would, in
the opinion of many, make the new
law less effective than the present in
terstate commerce law. Therefore
the announcement by the minority is
considered by democrats a fatuous ef
fore to hoodwink the public.
Foraker Unshaken :
Senator Foraker remained consist
ent to the last. He did not join with
the sensitive four in trying to cover
up his trail. He stoutly opposes any
rate regulation and will favor no com
promise. While his corporation ten
dencies are not admired by demo
crats, or for that matter by the re
publicans who stand with the presi
dent, he is given the credit of not
adding' hypocrisy to the list of his
offenses.
To Senator Tillman was assigned
the" honor of reporting the . Hepburn
bill to the senate. It Is an unpre-