Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, June 18, 1913, Page 3

PAGE TWO ABOUT THE STATE | News of Especial Interest to 4 Minnesota Readers. FALLS HEAVILY ON RAILROADS +— Rate Decision Calls for Return of Three Million Dollars to Passen- gers and Shippers. Minnesota railroads will be com- pelled to rebate to shippers and pas- of the United States supreme court} opinion in the now famous rate case. Three classes of rates are affected, all differently. In 1906 the railroad commission es- tablished schedule of merchandise rates, effective Nov. 15 of that year. In 1907 the legislature passed the commodity rate law, effective June 1 of that year. The same year it passed the 2-cent sr fare law, also effective 1. The merchandise rates were put into force by the railroads and not with- drawn until June 1, 1911. The same is true of the passenger rates. The commodity rates were never en- forced, having been enjoined by the United States district court. As a result of this situation the rail- roads owe shippers and passengers as follows: A rebate of the difference between the merchandise rates established by the legislature and those in force by the railroads since June 1, 1911—ap- proximately $500,000. A rebate on all passenger fares, ex- cept over the Minneapolis and St. Louis, of 1 cent a mile for every mile traveled from June 1, 1911, which probably will amount to $100,000, as only those who took receipts for the fares paid will be entitled to a rebate. Rebates Go Back to 1907. A return of everything paid in ex- cess of the commodity rates of 1907 from June 1 of that year to June 1, 1913, estimated at $2,400,000, includ- ing interest. In 1909 the legislature established the principle that the excess commod- ity rates must be returned to shippers should the state win in the rate case. It is a well known principle that when a railroad charges more than the tariff rate the shipper may recov- er. The 1909 tax required the rail- road to file a monthly statement with the railroad and warehouse commis: | sion, showing in detail the name of | the shipper, station to and from which ! the freight moved, kind of freight and | difference between the rate in litiga- tion and that charged. The roads have complied with this | law and it appears that the overcharge | on commodities amounts to $300,000 a | This does not include merchan- ; ipments or excess passenger | The law requires the roads to pay to | the railroad commission the amount of | the excess freight within ninety days | of the final entering of the decree in | the rate case and the commission must distribute this to claimants within one | year. } The commission has on file the | names of all shippers and the amount | due them since June 1, 1909. | ye: CAPTAIN WHITNEY IS DEAD End Comes to Well Known War Vet- | eran and Editor. Captain Charles C. Whitney, vet- | eran of the Civil war and for many years a resident of Minnesota, died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. | = sengers at least $3,000,000 as a result | ! breath. GRAND RAPIDS HERALD-REVIEW WEDESNDAY, JUNE 48, 1913. f | Fred “H.° Mills, at’ St. Paul. ‘or some time Captain Whitney suffered from an acute attack of stomach trouble. As editor of the Marshall News- Messenger, Captain Whitney was a prominent Minnesota newspaper man and at one time was state printer. He was interested in matters per- taining to the Grand Army of the Republic and was a member of the board of trustees of the Old Soldiers’ home. He was a Mason and belonged to the Elks and other organizations. Mr. Whitney was born in Massa- | chusetts, March 20, 1846, and came to Minnesota in 1879. FEAR KILLS BRAVE MOTHER Anxiety Over Babies She Is Rescuing From Fire Is Fatal. Anxiety over the peril of her two children when she was attempting {to rescue them from a fire caused Mrs. George Preston’s heart to fail and she died when about to de- scend the stairs with her babies in their home at Rochester. The children were rescued and the moth- er’s body carried out. The husband of the woman had de- parted on an evening train to be at the deathbed of a sister in Mexico. Boy’s Spectacular Fall. His clothes a mass of flames, Eu- gene St. John of St. Paul, thirteen years of age, was hurled free of the iron girders beneath the south end of the high bridge and dropped like a torch to the ground, fifty feet below, when he seized a high voltage elec- j tric wire. Death resulted in a few hours. TODAY IS YOUR ONLY DAY. Yesterday Is a Record and Tomorrow May Never Come. Good days and bad days exist only in your own head. The weather has nothing to do with it. Each day is what you make it for yourself. Bad weather is only an unfortunate opin- fon. Suppose it is raining pitchforks. You get word that your salary has been doubled or that a forgotten uncle has left you $1,000,000. What do you care about the weather then? Or suppose the person you love is dying. Unex- pectedly a turn for the better comes. The doctor says your dear one will live. What if it is hotter than Tophet? It is a good day, a great day, a happy day. It’s what you think and feel about it that makes each day what it is. You, within yourself, can make each day, every day, a good day. Put down in the notebook of your soul the poet Runeberg’s thought: “Each day is a life.” When you get up in the morning throw back your shoulders, take a deep Meet the new day like a man. Say to yourself: “Another day—another life!” For all we know, it may be the only day we'll ever have. Let’s make it the best day we can. Let’s strive to see that it is a day worth while. Let’s move a step forward in our work. Let’s do all the good we can. Let’s get all the happiness we can—today. Right now is the only time you can control. morrow is a secret. Today is yours, is mine.—American Magazine. The “Devil’s Graveyard.” A cemetery known as the “Devil's Graveyard,” on top of a rocky hill | overlooking Sion, Switzerland, where for centuries were buried sorcerers and sorceresses, is being blasted away to make room for public improvements. From the tenth century to the early seventeenth those supposed to be in traffic with the evil one were tortured, executed and buried there. The exca- vators have found bones estimated to be those of many hundreds of persons. DUCHESS TROUSERS Just What You've Been Looking For. 10¢ srrtox 5Oc Woi0Bita ' fora rip in seat. JOHN BECKFELT Grand Rapids Yesterday is a record. To- | 1 ,bundred or more state which happen in the Capital City dur- ing the year for all the attention it SEEMS CERTAIN Rallroads Expected to Fight Re- turn of Excess Charges, [EXTENT OF VIGTORY «N DOUBT eStrong Belief Prevails That Carriers Are Not Ready to Accept Verdict of Highest Court. (Special- Correspondence.) | St. Paul, June 17—How the state |of Minnesota won the right to | regulate those transportation lines | within its own confines, with due re- |gard for the law of confiscation in the prescribing of rates both for freight and passengers, which victory removed from threatened oblivion the old and much debated question of states’ rights, is history now, but it is still a live topic in state capitol circles. Handed down better than a week ago by the United States su- preme court the decision still has those who guide the destinies of the state by the ears and every one con- cerned swells with pardonable pride when the victory is mentioned. But what bothers now is will the roads accept the verdict of the highest court in the land; have they other time consuming devices up their sleeves, and will the state be able to make the roads disgorge the mil- lions of dollars in the shape of ex- cess fares and freight rates taxed the traveling and shipping public under the protection of an appeal that has been over four years before the vari ous federal courts? Former Attorney General E. T. Young and T. D. O’Brien, who laid the foundation for the victory, which is nationwide as far as the scope of its importance is concerned, are confident enough to believe that the 2-cent fare and the reduced commodity and merchandise rates, which were the bones of con- tention, will be in effect within the next ten days and that the millions of dollars of excess paid by the pub- lic will be recovered, but there are others not so sanguine. The expect- ed “kick back” of the excess paid by the traveling public, they say, will not come without a fight. Of this excess the return of probably $1,000,- 000 is in a ‘measure certain, as the legislature of 1909 took precaution to make it so in a law which it passed. But as to excess fares and freight rates paid, of which there is nothing to show beyond a brief memorandum on the companies’ books, they think it is lost for all time. Perhaps the state can compel its state treasury under the law of es- cheat, but that remains to be seen. What ever may happen, however, it was a great victory and the railroads reluctantly admit it. Mention of Ed Young, former attor- ney general, and the one who, with Tom O’Brien, Senator Durment and |others, laid the foundation for the | victory of last week, brings to mind what might have been had this de- cision been handed down last year in- stead of this. His title now might be governor instead of plain counsel- lor at law. It may have slipped your mind, but Ed suffered a bit of martyr- dom when he stood for a fine for contempt of court in attempting to enforce the rate law in the face of the injunction preventing its enforce- ment. His punishment brought him considerable advertising, but with a half dozen others who aspired to Gov- ernor Eberhart’s shoes he ran against the primary law and that settled it. In the old days of the convention a victory like last week would not bigger the fight waged against them the stronger would be their support. ++ + Touching on this same primary law and the passing of the old days when two terms in office, as far as \the state end is concerned, was re- garded as the law and three terms an evidence of popularity that car- tied with it something to be talked about, opinion is general at the state capitol that the next election will of- fer little in the way of new faces. The return of all the present incum- bents if they see fit to again make the race is regarded as certain. The very logic of the primary is against a@ change and there are plenty of the wise ones who will bet on the propo- sition.. Governor Eberhart is consid ered as certain if he wants a*return ticket. If the field is not large enough his friends and the thousands of officeholders who are his creation can provide it at a small expense. Secretary of State Schmahl has a cinch, so has Attorney General Smith and State Treasurer Smith, while as to State Auditor Iverson as long as the state primary law is on the books all he has to do is to pay the re- quired filing fee and sit down. tb +e Last week the Grand Army of the Republic of Minnesota held its annual convention at the old state capitol and the feature was the attendance of the national commander. A recep- tion was held in the evening at the big marble pile on Capitol hill and the affair might have been one of the return to the} have gone unrewarded. Those respon- | sible would have been invincible. The | gatherings received from those who once hov ered in its wake and were the first to grasp the hands of its guests. The capitol was lighted up and attendants were on haad to see that no vandal- ism took place, but the offices were dark and the heads of departments conspicuous by their absence. Even the gold room where his excellency holds forth was closed. Only one of- ficial was on the job, Secretary of State Schmahl. And to think of what the boys in blue once were, what , Dull was theirs! +e & It will not reach the proportions of a scandal, as public sentiment has practically decided where the new historical and supreme court build- |ing ordered by the last legislature will |be located, but this has not been ‘strong enough to prevent some rath- er nasty talk regarding a combina- tion for the purpose of forcing the purchase of a site by which it is said the promoters hope to realize a tidy sum. The building will prob- ably be located on the block east of the capitol which was formerly the site of the old Governor Merriam home, which is beautifully located, still real estate sharks are busy and it was stated last week that they had worked so industriously that the final determination as to the location will not be without a contest. The Mer- riam site, which is a block .in ex- tent, can be had for $45,000, while a | 44 quarter block some distance south is offered for $47,800. The hoped for sale of this latter site it is said in a measure influenced the passage of the bill authorizing the new building and this is responsible for some of the shady gossip now being indulged in. The Merriam block is favored by members of the board of control and the justices of the supreme court, but the historical society is divided on the proposition. ++ + Governor Eberhart has been quoted as saying that the recent rate deci- sion handed down at Washington is a victory for satewide control of pub- lic utilities, which he is advocating. As the decision savors more of home rule than centralized control I hardly think his excellency was correctly quoted, yet there are those about the capitol who argue that the decision is favorable to the new movement. Governor Eberhart received the news of the decision with considerable pleasure and said it was a victory to be proud of, though it is of memory that he was a little chary about com- menting on the outcome when the case was pending. He refused to join a movement started by a number of governors to force the issue, de- claring that it was a matter wholly for the courts. Between you and I, fellows, his excellency had some cold feet while that battle was on, but that does not prevent him in joining in the general jollification now. e+ Wntil the special session of the leg- islature which Governor Eberhart has promised is called the house commit- tee, headed by W. I. Nolan of Minne- apolis, appointed to look into the question of statewide control, will busy itself in. finding out what public men, taxpayers and the municipali- ties think of the new idea. | Letters with a list of questions will be di- rected to each. The committee, you probably learned, put in several days at Madison, Wis., studying the utili- ties law of that state. Nolan says Wisconsin has an admirable law for Wisconsin, but he doubts whether it would work in this state. As he ex- plains it Wisconsin, which is uni- versity controlled to a large degree, has been centralizing control on all lines of government at Madison, while Minnesota has long preached the doctrine of home rule and its towns are jealous of any encroach- ment. This, he says, is where the shoe may pinch and make the pas- sage of the law as demanded by the governor difficult. ++ + It might be well for the kingmak. ers to keep their eye on Judge John- son of Goodhue county, who caused quite a few to sit up and take no- tice in a demand on the grand jury of his county that it investigate vio- lations of the 2-cent fare passenger law in the district and bring indict- ments. The jury failed to take heed and he gave the members a scoring. Then followed the findings of the su- preme court at Washington. That one official in the state did have the nerve to start something brought him considerable attention and Judge Johnson was. flooded with letters of congratulation. What high office Judge Johnson has his eye on is not known, but it might be well to keep jtrack of his future movements. His honor is going to make trouble for some one yet. + ++ The insurgent end of the Modern Woodmen of America, which suc- ceeded in forcing the legislature to recognize their claims to the extent of passing a law allowing them organize, have learned one thing an that is the hand is sometimes quicker than the eye. To permit the filing of the necessary articles of incorpora- tion the draft of the bill called for fifteen signers. Some one slipped in three ciphers and then added that every one of this number would have to have his name acknowledged by la notary. Then to make matters worse the bill was amended so as to compel every insurgent to sever his connection with the old organizatipn before signing the permit for the jnew. THE COUNTY CHAIRMAN. $30.00, sale price GEO. F. FELEPEERLESEPO CEP ESOEFEPO OC CESECERESEESESEEEDOOOESS Our Great Annual Rug Sale Begins Thursday, June 12 Continues until Saturday, the 24th Below we list a few of the Choice Bar- gains offered at jhis sale: 9x12 Axminster Rugs, regular price $23.50, sale a ee 8.75 9xi\2 Axminster Rugs, regular price $26.50, sale price---...-- 9x12 Axminster Rugs, reguler price 9x12 Tapestay Brussels Rug, regular price, $18.00, sale price 14.50 9x32 Tapestry Brussels Rug, regular pice $1500 ise ee 11.75 All other Rugs at a discount of from 10 to 25 per cent. Be sure to take advantage of this op- portunity to get a new rug at a low price. — OPPOSITE POSTOFFICE RabdaobODoDOaDRARR RR KREMER OUR FEARLESS SAILORS. An Incident of the Old Days Off the Cape of Good Hope, American vessels in those days (1833) surpassed the sailing records of ships of every other nation. Once when down nearly to the latitude of the Cape of Good Hope we encountered the most severe gale of our outward bound voy- age. A mountainous sea was heaving in from the south, and the wind, which had originally come from that direc- tion, was now blowing directly from the west with hurricane force. High as the Washington stood above the water, occasional crests would sweep her main deck and she steered so hard that I had to keep two men continually at the wheel and have them relieved ev- ery half hour. The wind. however, was fair, and therefore every man on the ship, from Captain L. to the cook’s boy, would have felt disgraced had the order been given to heave the ship to. Under dou- ble reefed topsails and fore course she was logging upward of sixteen knots, and all hands were as pleased as if they had just been granted a week’s shore leave at New York. Later in the day, when the wind had moderated somewhat, we sighted a large British bark hove to under short canvas. She was flying distress sig- nals, so Captain L. ordered the wheel put up and ran down to have a look at her. As soon as our signals could be clearly seen he asked what she want- ed, and the bark replied with a request to stand by. Captain L, then ran up flags demanding if the bark were in- jured or anything wrong on board. The Britisher replied again, “Stand by. Do not like look of weather.” When the second mate read the meaning of this signal out of the code book a great laugh went up in our eabin, and Captain L. replied with flags reading, “See nothing wrong in this weather.” and hoisted the Ameri- ean ensign above the signal in order to give point to his remark. No doubt the British captain said. “Another of those crazy Yankees!” when he read our flags, but we were in Batavia a week before he appeared._From “The Journal of Captain Nathaniel Webber” ‘» Outing. Still He Had It. A certain physician told some of his patients that as long as they kept their feet and legs dry they would be safe from an attack of the grip. One day he was surprised to receive a letter from a patient in which the latter said that he had two wooden legs and yet he had had the grip for five consecu- live years.—Philadelphia Ledger. Jones (just i luced) —I suppose you don’t remel me, but I was once a witness against your side in a certain trial, and I remember that you cross examined me with the greatest courtesy. The Lawyer—Is that so? Perhaps your testimony was not ma- terial.—Puck The Eternal Feminine. “Wimmen certainly ain't got no con- sistency.” “What's the matter, Mike?” “Me wife chased me out wid a rolling pin this morning and then cried be- cause b left home without kissing her goodby.”—Pittsburgh Post. Caught the Habit. “That yachting party are telling the biggest fakes 1 ever heard.” “Yes, and you can see at a glance that even the yacht is lying to.”—Balti- more American. le OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE Village Council OF THE Village of Grand Rapids Minnesota Grand Rapids, Minn., June 9, 1913 A regular meeting of the Village Council of the Village of Grand Rapids, Itasca County, Minnesota, was held th: 9th day of June, 1913, in the Re. corder’s office, Village Hall, at eight o’ctock P. M. Memb present: President Riddell, Trustees Arscott and King and Record- er Sherman. Minutes of the three previous meet- ings were read and approved. Monthly report of Treasurer Lofberg was read, approved and ordered placed on file. The following bills were audited and allowed; + P. C. Warner, drawing specifica- tions and assignment.. .. ...... $ 14.065 H. D. Powers, dynamite and fuse 8.65 A. L. Lafreniere, publishing pro- ceedings and notices...... seeee 15.55 E. C. Kiley, publishing proceed- ings and notices.. es 13.95 C. W. Forrest, fire run,.. .. - 6.00 Stevens & Weld, wood for fire hall mie os aeleas onligetogeagwens 6.75 Henry Hughes & Co., tools and supplies,.. cys eps is ah ate 9.63 First Nat. Bank, assignees, DOP BA i oie e ee lier vent yom 2.00 Geo. Riddell, hose spanners 3.00 Lieberman Bros. As: dry labor bills.. J. S. Lofberg, 504 feet planking 11.08 Edw. Hachey, part payment on cul- vert contract.. a The following bids were received for the building of all vilage crosswalks for ‘the ensuing year, from Edward Hachey at 16e per square foot; from Lofberg Cement Works, at 14 3-4c per square foot; from C. A. Carlson at 16¢ per square foot. Whereas, bid of Lof- berg Cement works being the lowest, upon motion duly made and carried, said Lofberg Cement Works were awarded the contract to construct all Village crosswalks for t! ensuing year at 14 3.4c per square foot. A petition was read from property owners in Block 10, Houghton’s first addition to open alley in said block runing east and west. Upon motion duly made and carried, prayer of said petitioners was granted and the street Commissioner was instructed to open said alley. Motion made by Arscott, seconded by King, that the village engineer be in. structed to cause a survey to be made of roa’) entering the village from tha east adjoining the Gréat Northern right of way, and to furnish the council a blue print of same; motion carried. There being no furthér business the meeting adjourned. Attest: GEORGE RIDDELL, Village President, FRANK SHERMAN, Village Recorder. RARER aie eRe ei Civil Engineering ITASCA ENGINEERING CO. J.A. 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