TWENTIETH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 605 



contending, and the other side came in with a lot of eloquence and wit, 

 and a few witnesses from home, without any exhaustive evidence from 

 a rate or statistical standpoint. 



At this time I had what I like to consider a little dream or vision — I 

 wanted to establish a department that would be just as thoroughly 

 equipped as any railroad attorney had, so that when I went into these 

 controversies I would be prepared to meet them on their own ground. I 

 had been six years listening to them here in Des Moines, and I wanted 

 to do the thing in the same manner that they did it. I presented that 

 idea to various groups of shippers — I couldn't expect any individual or- 

 ganzlation of shippers to finance the whole project, because it was bigger 

 than one group would want to tackle. I went to the oil people and the 

 grain people and the live stock people, and finally we have built up a 

 little organization over in Chicago. We generally have from twenty to 

 twenty-five people, including rate clerks, statisticians and stenographers, 

 at work all the time; and I want to tell you folks the salary that the 

 Corn Belt MeM Producers' Association is paying me wouldn't pay one- 

 fifth of my office rent. The live stock industry as a whole is just fur- 

 nishing one stenographer in that group of people that are working. I 

 feel that that is unfortunate. I believe that the live stock industry and 

 the farming industry ought to put into the office, either mine or someone 

 else's, just as large a force as Mr. Dynnes of the Milwaukee railroad, 

 or any other railroad, has at work. I believe that the live stock industry 

 of the United States and the farming industry ought to keep two or three 

 statisticians and three or four rate clerks working constantly. Just at 

 the present moment there is a little issue up, and I wonder how we are 

 prepared for it from the farming standpoint? The railroads are about 

 to demand an increase of probably 25 per cent, which if granted will cost 

 the American people in the neighborhood of $1,200,000,000. Now, they 

 are entitled to an increase; they are going to get it; but that is not 

 equivalent to saying that they shall have all they want. It is possible 

 for them to ask for too much, isn't it? The railroads have had a com- 

 mittee of traffic men and accountants working on that question since 

 last November, and there is nobody, either traffic man or accountant, in 

 the United States, In the employ of the shippers, that has been working 

 at all on the subject, that I have yet heard of, outside of that law office 

 in Chicago. There are a number of traffic men present, and I would like 

 to ask them if they know of any accountants, traffic men, statisticians, 

 or anybody in the United States working in preparation of the advanced 

 rate case that the railroads are going to put up in a very few weeks. I 

 don't know of such. A 15 per cent advance in freight and passenger 

 rates would produce over $600,000,000, which would take care of the de- 

 ficit of the government because of the guarantee of last year, and more 

 than take care of the provisions under Section 6 of the Cummins bill, 

 so that you see if we could prune off the railroads' request for a 25 per 

 cent increase by 10 per cent, that would mean over $500,000,000. It is 

 worth preparing for a case of that magnitude. Mr. Elmquest, of Minne- 

 apolis, recently said to me: "Are you getting ready for that case, 

 Thorne?" I replied, "A little, not much; I have enough to do to keep 

 my force busy on the regular work." He then asked: "How much will 



