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Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the Committee:—
Tlie subject of railway rates and regulation has
been before the people of Wisconsin as an issue in
politics almost constantly for the past two years. The
campaign has been one of misrepresentation. Whatever opinions have been formed are the result of
political and partisan discussion. There has been no
calm deliberation or intelligent investigation of the subject. These discussions have largely grown out of
misinformation and a desire to present the subject
in a way that would prejudice the people against the
railways for the' purpose of securing votes. Statements that are untrue in fact or misleading in their
effect, when made by persons occupying official position, and persisted in long enough, come to be regarded
as truth, and often are used as the basis of legislation.
The people of this state have been misled.
They were misled by the statement that they pay
forty-seven million dollars a year for freight.
V
They were misled by the statement that a railway
commission could save them eleven million dollars
annually in freight rates. The fact is that the total
freight earnings on Wisconsin business has never 2
reached fourteen ...
Argument of Burton Hanson, General Solicitor, Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, Before the Joint Committee on Railroads of the Legislature of Wisconsin : on the Subject of Railway Regulation, February 28, 1905
