Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1872-02-29

0uCl, MT. 1opcdkcT, 10 Ihc idHp udS'
Of Mr.. Justice Miller, a member o
highest court in the United States
q set forth in his Circuit Court Re
ports.
Abundant evidence OF similar pur
port can be found in the decisions Q
the courts, to Justify the conclusion
that Congress has ample power t,
enact laws on this subject. And VIII.
not ? If it is within the province o
Legislative body to limit the rate
Of toll on turnpike or plank road
can there be any good reason VIII.
the same should not be done in th'
case OF q railroad
But it may be said that this Who'll.
subject should be lett with the Legs
losures OF the several States. In 9th
o. words, that an attempt on the par,
of Congress to grapplc with thi'
question is only another step toward
centralization. On this point l invite
your attention to the language Of
Of Hon. Charles Francis Adams, jr.
one of the railroad commissioners for
the State of Massachusetts, in an es.
say on the subject of railroads and
their management. lie says:
$50 far as railroads are concerned,
competition puts both certainty and respon-
.ibilty out of question; it renders the
first impossible, and by division destroys
the last. Most conclusive illustrations Of
all these propositions, IS well as the utter
insufficieney Of the State Legislature to
deal with the subject, may be found in
the experience Of the year 1870. During
that year competition was bitter in the ex-
treme. the rates made East and West were
simply ruinous. On certain descriptions of
freight they were literally reduced to moth
ing. OF course this could not last. Early
in September, 1870, representatives Of the
competing lines met in New York and pro-
ceeded TO put a stop to competition in the
only way possible among monopolists, by
combination. The parties in interest were
the New York Central. the Erie, and Penn
sylyania Central. The competition was
mainly from Illinois 10 New York. In both
Illinois and New York laws forbidding the
consolidation Of competing lines were in
force, and all these roads we're carrying on
operations il Que or both Of these States. At
Tie meeting in question it was decidedto
pool the earnings of the lines to all compet-
ing,points. In other words. all receipts frem
that business which was supposed to receive
a peculiar benefit from competition were to
be paid into a common fund. Compe-
titon was to Immediately cease. fixed rates
to be dha rged, and thus. 1t least, oil the
great trunk lines we're to be practically con-
soliiated, in so far as the business commu-
nifty was concerned"
And the railroad commissioners
for the State OF Illinois, in late and
very able report on this subject, say :
"The regulation Of the railroad system
BY legislative enactments is great problem
waitirg its successful solution in the future.
Whether it will ever be successfully solved
By the action Of several States is doubted
Uy uuuy. OuI tuUSt A"ihoeA
lines having become national-in fact, it
might bel said observation-disclosures of the
best minds in the country. which have atten-
lively studied the subject, have intinated
that as Congress has the undoubted consti>
tutional power to regulate commerce with
foreign nalions and among the several
States, the whole control Of the railroad
management, as relates to the interests of
H. H. to1 -
the national Legislature"
Is there necessity for such leg
lation? l know it may be said that
fault. finding is easy, and that wrongs
are easier found than remedies; yet |
insist that reform is demanded; and
such reform cannot be too thorough
nor come too soon.
What are the evils of which we
Men possessed with suf.
ficient brain aud energy to win sue
cess in any department of life have
together aud seized the
railroad as a stepping stone to wealth
and power. Less than score OF
these persons meet in secret conclave
and resolve to increase the rates OF
charges on every line ot road repre-
sented by them. The telegraph in
forms the station agents Of this edict,
and q new schedule OF charges goes
into effect. But the farmer who is
shipping his grain to market receives
no more than before, aud IS therefore
compelled to subtract from the pro-
ceeds OF his harvest this additional
tribute levied by these men. In
deed, the entire inland country OF
the West is, in sense, at the mercy
OF these railroad operators. We read
In history that the barons of the teu-
dal ages owned the lands. and at their
pleasure levied tribute on their sub
jects; and history repeats itself in the
fact that these ,nonopolles accom-
plish the same end, only through
different channel.
1t has been argued that the con
struction of new roads would tend
to destroy these com binations BY
erecting healthy competition and
to that end the people have involved
themselves in debt aud given freely
OF their means, while Congress for
tho same purpose has made princely
grants of land. But such new road
as soon as completed at once com.
bines with others, and thus reliel
fails to come. On the contrary, the
monopolles are on the increase from
year to year, and competiti on is thus
diminished To day the railroad