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CONGRESS, UNITED STATES. 



lects wisely, as the presumption must be lie will, 

 will select' experts, if I may so say, will select 

 for one of these commissioners a man specially 

 taught or instructed in regard to the subject. 

 For example, although I do not know that he 

 ever will be thought of, Mr. Henry V. Poor, 

 who has devoted so many years to railway in- 

 vestigations, to writing on the subject, would 

 be in respect of many of the incidents falling 

 within the scope of this investigation a very 

 proper selection. So I might mention other 

 men whose lives and pursuits have trained them 

 to do that which I may say without oifense to 

 the honorable Senator from Delaware he could 

 not do for lack of the practical training, which 

 certainly I could not do, and which it would be 

 very difficult to find any member of either 

 House who could do as well. Therefore, that 

 we might employ and utilize the special facul- 

 ties and the special fund of information per- 

 taining to those who in particular are instructed 

 in this regard, it was thought wise by the com- 

 mittee to authorize in the mode proposed the 

 selection of three of these nine persons to bring 

 in such fund of instruction and aid as they 

 could. 



" Now, if ten dollars a day be an inordinate 

 compensation, it would be true of one as well 

 as of three; but, then,. I submit that any Sena- 

 tor who so thinks should make his amendment 

 a reduction of the compensation. 



" My honorable friend from Connecticut 

 [Mr. Eaton] said that this might provoke a 

 good deal of discussion; some other Senator 

 said it ought to be considered at large; and 

 another Senator that it was a very important 

 matter. All that may be true ; and yet this is a 

 mere preliminary inquiry ; merely using a hand 

 to gather up facts and recommendations to be 

 in the future submitted to Congress, It cer- 

 tainly can do no great harm beyond the expen- 

 diture of the money, and considering how much 

 has been said and how much remains to be said, 

 how enormously the country would be advan- 

 taged if the strifes and hardships growing out 

 of the want of adjustment of railway and other 

 freights could be brought to an end, it seems to 

 me that this is not an unwise or extravagant 

 expenditure of money. Indeed, I would be 

 willing to vote for the extreme amount if I 

 thought the chances were nine to one that it 

 would fail for the remaining one chance of suc- 

 cess in the attempt to acquire this information 

 to enlighten us all to the end that hereafter we 

 may profit by it. I would vote for what must 

 be (unless this shall fall into improper hands, 

 as I can not suppose) a very limited expenditure 

 at most to enable such a commission to acquire 

 this information." 



Mr. Gordon, of Georgia : " Mr. President, 

 the records of the Senate will show that upon 

 this question probablv more than any other has 

 the Congress of the United States been memo- 

 rialized, I think from almost every State in the 

 Union. Our files in the Committee on Com- 

 merce are absolutely burdened with petitions 



from every section of the country upon the sub- 

 ject of interstate commerce and the regulation 

 of railroads, and the committee thought that in 

 dealing with such a vast subject, embracing so 

 many conflicting interests, railroads built neces- 

 sarily at such different costs, railroads running 

 necessarily at such different rates of expense, 

 varying according to the topography of the 

 country and the amount of freight, it would be 

 impossible for gentlemen sitting here at a central 

 point like Washington to determine what was 

 due on the one hand to the great mass of ship- 

 pers and on the other hand to the railroads, 

 and they thought, therefore, that as little as 

 Congress could do to meet the wishes of the 

 great mass of the people of this country was to 

 make some investigation into this subject, and 

 the question was how we should go about it. 



" It will be difficult to frame a bill, as every 

 Senator can see at once, to meet the wants of 

 the country ; and the very first element of suc- 

 cess in doing that would be to get information 

 upon this subject, and at the same time to get 

 suggestions from men who are eminently prac- 

 tical and qualified to give opinions on the sub- 

 ject. 



u I was led myself very largely, indeed al- 

 most entirely, to vote for this resolution by the 

 consideration that it had been already tested in 

 my own State. Georgia has recently appointed 

 a commission upon this very important subject 

 to determine railroad freights through that 

 State, and I believe I may say that the report of 

 that commission, recently made, has given al- 

 most universal satisfaction to the people and to 

 the railroads. There was great clamor from 

 different sections of our State, one section com- 

 plaining that there was discrimination against 

 it, another section complaining that through 

 freights were destroying the business of that 

 particular locality. Our Legislature was bur- 

 dened, as Congress is, with petitions to do some- 

 thing which would relieve the country and give 

 satisfaction to the people. The Legislature, af- 

 ter mature consideration, decided that it was 

 best to have a commission appointed to make 

 report, to get up facts, and to suggest legisla- 

 tion, and, as I said awhile ago, that commission 

 has acted ; it has produced quiet and peace and 

 satisfaction, I think, to almost everybody in 

 that State." 



Mr. Beck, of Kentucky : "Mr. President, I 

 am opposed to this resolution, for reasons 

 which I will briefly state. 



" I believe that the Congress of the United 

 States ought to control any commission it may 

 appoint, therefore it should be made up of its 

 own members. It ought to be composed of 

 men who can explain on the floor of the respec- 

 tive Houses the information that may be ob- 

 tained by the investigation. Stenographers are 

 provided for in this resolution ; they can take 

 down whatever testimony men belonging to 

 both Houses shall elicit, so that all the views 

 of the experts can be obtained and reported on. 



" There is no design, as I understand the 



