THE BEND IN THE ROAD.
There's a bend in the road where a great elm
tree
Holds out its giant arms.
In the olden times when the pioneers
Were clearing off their farms ,
Oft they met in their passing to and fro ,
And a turn was made
To the great tree's shade
For a frii-ndly talk by the water's flow.
'Tis a bend in the road that afar each way ,
A country highway straight ,
Runs along midst fields , and the wild weeds'
bloom
That meets each farm-yard gate.
Where a bit of the woods grows near the turn ,
To the restful'nook
Comes a little brook
From its shallow bed in the haunts of fern.
All the travelers journeying on that way ,
When summer days are fair ,
Stop awhile to sit on the wooden bridge.
The brook makes ripples there ,
And each bank is a couch o'ersprcad with
green ,
And a joyous gleam
In the winding stream
Gives a blithesome cheer to the quiet scene.
Curved around with the brook runs the
country road ;
And oft the passers-by
Drive their teams to rest in the water cool
Whore deep the shadows lie.
Here the farmers , freed from their labor's
strain ,
Look beyond w hero , green
In the summer's sheen ,
Are the fruits of toil in the fields of grain.
And but few of the many who linger hero ,
Within this sheltered space ,
Can escape the charm that uplifts the mind
Above the commonplace
Till they think , as they wait , of questions
grave ,
Of the aims of life ,
Of the worth of strife ,
Or they dream of efforts and struggles brave.
Then away from the peace of the wayside
nook ,
Again to meet life's carol
While the fair , lone spot seems to haunt the
heart
Witli thoughts that met it there.
Like a Sabbath of rest for the weary soul ,
When earthly burdens cease ,
Is the tranquil nook
By the curving brook
With its welcome blessing of nature's peace.
MAHY FJIKNCH MOHTON.
THE CULLOM
THE CONSERVATIVE encourages the use
of its columns for intelligent discussion
upon all phases of public questions ,
believing that truth will not be injured
by publicity. The following was written -
ton by Mr. E. P. Bacon , of the commis
sion house of E. P. Bacon &Co.of
Milwaukee , in reply to the editorial
expression of this paper relative to the
Oullom bill :
"I'note in the issue of THE CONSERVA
TIVE of May 10 , editorial comment upon
the Cullom bill , now pending in the
senate , the purport of which very much
surprises me , and it seems to me it must
have been written under an entire mis
apprehension of the provisions of the
bill , derived from railway representa
tious of the intent and purpose of the
bill , rather than from a personal study
of the bill itself. The statement that
'it would give to the commission the
unrestricted power of making rates , '
seems to me to be entirely erroneous.
The only provision in the bill relating to
the fixing of rates is in the proposed
amendment to Section 15 , which reads :
If , after a full hearing , it is determined
* * * any carrier is in violation of
the provisions of this act , the commis
sion shall make an order directing such
carrier to cpase and desist from such
further violation , and shall prescribe in
such order the thing which the carrier is
required to do or not to do for the future
to bring itself into conformity with the
provisions of the act ; and in so doing it
shall have power : ( a ) to fix a maximum
rate covering the entire cost of the ser
vice , ( b ) to fix both a maximum and
minimum rate or differential in rates
when that may be necessary to prevent
discrimination under the Third Sec
tion , ' etc.
Railroads Must IIuvo a Hearing.
"It will be observed that this power is
operative only after a full hearing , in
which all parties in interest have oppor
tunity to present testimony and argu
ments , after due consideration of which
the commission proceeds to act. It seems
to me that this can only be regarded as
a power to revise and correct rates made
by the carriers , when found to be un
reasonable or unjust , on full investiga
tion , and that it does not confer power
to make rates primarily. Unless the
commission is vested with power to
declare what in its judgment is a just
and reasonable rate , when it finds a rate
in question , upon investigation , to be
otherwise , the public is utterly without
means of relief. It is not an answer to
say that relief can be obtained through
the courts , from the fact that the courts
can only award damages in case they
deem rates previously charged to be
unreasonable or unjust. It is relief
from the continuance of an unjust or
unreasonable rate that is sought by the
public , and the courts are without power
to fix future rates , that being purely a
legislative act. Furthermore , a claim.
for damages can rarely be sustained , for
the reason that the freight is seldom
paid by the party who actually bears it
and is the real sufferer , the freight being ,
in fact , paid almost universally by a
third party who does not suffer any
damage in consequence of it , and the
party who does suffer the damage has
no real cause of action.
Appeal to Courts.
"You remark further : 'There would
be no appeal from their decision , how
ever unjust it might bo to the railroads. "
The proposed amendment to Section 10
provides that 'any carrier may , within
thirty days from the service of an
administrative order upon it , begin in
the circuit court of the United States
for the district in which its principal
operating office is situated , proceedings
to review such order and the findings on
which it is based. * * * If upon
such a hearing the court shall be of
opinion that the order of the commission
is not a lawful , just and reasonable one ,
it shall vacate the order ; otherwise it
shall dismiss the proceedings in review.
* * * The court may also , if upon
an inspection of the record it plainly
appears that the order proceeds upon
some error of law or is unjust and un
reasonable on the facts , and not other
wise , suspend the operations of the order
during the pendency of the proceedings
in review , or until further order of the
court. Either party may appeal from
the judgment of the circuit court to the
supreme court of the United States. *
* * The cause shall be given prefer
ence over all other causes , excepting
criminal causes. ' "
THE TRAIL REVIVED.
These ingenious gentlemen who are
amusing themselves with planning a
buggy-road across the continent have
gotten so far along as to select their
route. They are going to pass through
Nebraska , go up the Platte valley , and
to Salt Lake by way of Denver. It will
be a pleasure , when this road is built , to
see the hardy New Euglanders come out
on their anhippic carriages to cross the
plains , armed with shooting devices to
destroy the buffalo and stocked with
looking-glasses and red blankets where
with to gain the good-will of the Crows
and Blackfeet by the way. It is to be
hoped that the generation that used to
take advantage of innocent travelers
from the east has passed away. There
was a settler once who bought a wagon
very cheap from an emigrant , because
it would not go through the South Pass.
He measured it and found it just three
inches too wide. When the emigrant
reached the South Pass and perceived its
dimensions , he was angry , but it was too
late to go back and shoot the settler. It
is safe to say that there are none now in
Nebraska mean enough to acquire
automobiles by such perfidy as this.
Travelers by this new road will be
secured against this particular subtlety ,
at any rate , for the projectors mean to
begin with a sixty-foot roadway , to be
doubled in time. To insure success ,
however , in building a 120-foot thorough
fare through some parts of the Rocky
Mountains , they should begin while the
Reverend Mr. Sheldon of Topeka is alive ;
for he is probably the only man suffi
ciently in the confidence of the Maker
of those mountains to tell them how
such things are done.
Micawber "How do parrots talk ? "
Swivoller "Inpollysyllablesof course. "
[ Tit-Bits. ]
