, 1873-03-13

day, aro worry temperate and conamendable
Thoy show tllat thore is sonso of Justice por
vadlng tho agricultural community, and that thi
aosso will DO hest answered by inyoBtigating DO
foro logiB|ating.
Mr.. Harris. representa- a railroad whoHo man
agotnont Inns boon genora1ly III high reputo. Th'
condition OF tho road, tho steady valuo Of th'
stock, and tho absence Of any Wall Htroot com
pEicalions In Ito Affairs attost this. Honco nlr.
1Iarris' oyidonco Is worthy Of impartial consid
oration. Ho af1lrms TINT l,is road, and probab1,
tho railroads generally, lavo no disposition tt
treat tho public unfairly. Ho statos plainly tina
the Burlington 4 Quincy Road has novo1
| undertaken to do bus,nosa at q loss
but ho claims TINT IN absolute ro
ductton OF ono-Bixth on It's proaont charger
would destroy ita capital. Tho expenses Of run.
ming railroad, both Mr. Harria md Mr. Novel;
affirm, absorbB Ct por cont or two-thirds Of the
grosa recoipta, leaving one-third to pay tho In.
torost on tho bonds and to apply to tlividonds.
To tako away one-sixth would therefore bo to 70.
duco this margin ono-hnlt, or to 1oayo barely
enough to pay tho interest on tho bonds md
nothing for profits. Ho also contonda that tho
State Railroad Commissioners erred In fixing
s25, GOO milo Us tho average sum which rail-
roada should coat. It ia not improbable that
Harris claims is necessary in tho negotiation OF
bonds, the year's e1tra interest paid to complete
the roads quickly, and tho largo expenditures
for car-worAe, dopota, and rolling stock which
muBt bo included in tho cost Of n
railroad. Including these, 1lr. Harrie bo-
lievos that s46,0oo a milo more nearly
represents tho average cost Of flrst-class rail-
roats. nIr. Harris did not state what was tho
actual coat Of tho railway which ho rnanngos,
and what tho profit earnod on actual cost. Mr.
Nowoll stated that tho earnings of tho Illinois
Central wero por cont on tho cash Investment.
Mr. Carter, an ex-railroad President, stated that
thoro wore only four railroads in tho stato that
aro paying my dividends. ThoHo roads, wo sup
pose, are tho Chicago l. Rock Island; Chicago,
Burlington l. Quincy; tho Chicago l. Alton,
md tho Illinois Central.
Tho question OF discrimination In rates was
tho most interesting topic approached In Mr..
Harris statement. He began by declaring his
Willingness to operate his road On tariff pro-
parod by my man, or any comrulttoo Of mon,
which would onabo tho road to make roasona-
bio profit. He testiAes TINT l,e bus sought aid
from yarious SOURCES to frarno such q tariff, hut
obtained only confusion worno confound-
cd. This Is precisely what the Legislature LAS
proposed to DO hitherto, without any experience
or any trustworthy information about tho mat
tor. The principal point to which hlr. Harria
objects Is that clauso Of tho Law which
would compel the road to adopt for evory
current year tho lowest ratio which had
ruled at any time for any place during tho
previous yoar, entirely rogardleaa Of circum-
STANCES which might aroob tho expenses. He
confines himself, however, to tho factof compcti-
tion to justify disoriminations. To take tho
familiar caso of Lexington and Bloomington aa
m illustration Tho Chicago, Alton d St. Louis
Road has competition at Bloomington in
a road running direct to Toledo. In
ordor to tako away business from CHI
cago to Toledo, this road reduces ratos
ba1nw living figure; IN order to savo its aharo
Of tho business, Tim Chicago r. Alton Road does
tho Hamo. h1r. Harris holds that tho Chicago &,
Alton Road, in charging higher ratio to Lexing-
ton, Il shorter distance, is not unjuBtly discrimi-
mating against the latter town, but contends
that itcan afford to mako better rates to Lexington
by this means than 1t could by proportionatoly
increasing tho ratos uniformly to Bloomington,
whereby 1t would lose all Of the Bloomington
business. In other words, tho loss OF a largo
business from junction points would force all
railroads to increase their rates to other points
to mako up the doflcit. II; on tho othor hand,
tho roads woro forced to lower their rates pro-
to Intermediate or non-competing
points, it would be better for them to sacrifice
tho business at junction points altogether, which
would lead eventually to an incroaso Of tho rates
to tho remaining stationa.
That unjust Determinations must DO stopped
within tho limits OF this State is re tako It, IN un-
deniablo proposition. It ia of courao impossible
for tho Illinois Legislature to prescribe what
may bo done by tho Chicago, Burlington Il
'4u1uGy 1tal!Eouu Ill 4DWA uE HlHGouall, oE ny Tug
IllinoiR Central ut New OrlennH. But as to
localitios in Illinois, it has boon decided by tho
Supreme Court that common carriers cannot dis
criminato between localities upon tho more
ground Of competition. It has boon decided that
that was the law before the Legislature tried ita
hand on 1t at all. Now the question for tho rail-
roads to determine III whether they will uuitedly
conform their business to this principle, or have
tho Legislature and tue courts do it for them.
They must do ono or the other.
OUR OCEAN TRANSPORTATION,
During the last Congress there we're some
thirty lilla nrnnoaed hnyjnr for thnir nhinct tba