The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1871-01-19

ioners for the State of Massachusetts,
have submitted . plan 10 control tho
railroads Of that State, % as To pre-
vent exhorbtant rates Of tariff for
freight and passengers. To effect
thiS ohise, Is lmhaps one ofthe Jost
dldlcult shlngS % legialation, and el
plan wQich Try ssemit does bt !
oontsmt hate lagislation, Net . part |
ownership BY The State in its roads |
TO be controlled by mon from all
parts Of the State appointed for that
purpose.
The follawing is the plan Of these
Commissioners ~ given by the Ma.
ton:
although they oarefally avoid all
expression of opinion on the subject,
it is sufficiently apparent that the
Massachusetts, Commissioners, how j
ever it may have resulted in Belgium J.
have no very implicit confidence in
the results Of any generalo ownership
OF railroads BY the Stats, Under our
System Of government. They very
distinctly limit themselves 1T present ]
to . proposal to temper, - IL were
q general rule Of ownership by pri
vats corporations BY . very limited
Infusion Of public inanagemeht.--F
They therefore now propose the
purchase by the State of the railroad
between Boston and Fitchburg, with
. view to it's management, not by
the Government, they are careful to
say, but BY board Of trustees, TO be
selected BY the Legislature from the
community IT large. The yroad, ~.
seems, u only about filty miles lpnR,
but It lies wholly within the jurisdic-
lion of Massachusetts, and ID 20 pla0ed
among the other roasss Of the rktatsI
. TO hold . commanding position =
competing, in fact, 10 every direction.
| This road, the cOmmissionerA itwOuld
seem, rather desire 70 convert Into :
standing menace upon allath6 other
corporations of the commohweAlth,
directly influencing them through it;
creating, in tact, m iusvitsbls com.
petition between two systems of
managsmsn4a pabaie and prisAteythS
continpatiea OF each Of whieh will
depend onits mot allowing the other
to surpass Il in the aocommedaaioa
fnrniahed 70 the public. The tenure
OF official life would, iE fact, be simply
during good bshasier. q q 80
aOf coHrss, Ii y .. wholly open
Question whether that which In
BEEN sucosssfal in Belgium w0ald b.
snccsssfal IN, Massachusetts,. II Il oer.
| tainly woald not b. sacosssfal in New
| York. Such 4 ,snug nest for the hun.
! CRY disciples Of Our numerous rings
could hardly long b kept from par.
tisxn control; soon or late, and prob
ably very soon, it would share the
fate OF Central Park. Massachusetts
| enjoys . somewhat purer politics
Atmosphere and it might, by . mighty
effort Of ingenuity, 20 hedge shout thu
direction OF this road that the well
!. nigh ubiquitous man inside politics
! could not effect q lodgment in it,
The commissioners by no means ig
more tho danger from this quarter
and very distinctly give it as theil
|: opinion that the whole results of tn,
experiment depend on avoiding IT,
Whether it is possible to do 20 or no
RENAME TO be seen: II it is possible
then there 10 no reason why the ma
tcrial results which have flowed from
this form Of competition in Belgium
should not reproduce themselves il
, Massachusetts. Should they do 90
. the effects on tho industrial develop
ment of that State would be incalcu
,, lable-its rate Of increase woul,
! more than double. In any case,
+ new. principle of railroad competition
has been suggested, and certainly
has not been suggested before tn
|, need for it was felt."