New-York tribune., 1874-03-21
TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS
THE ANTLRAHROAD MANIA.

THE TI-RAILROAD MANIA.
REASONS FOR DISCRIMINATING IN FREIGHiS io
sNAIIyR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OF IN
TERFERENCE WITH TRANSPORTATION CHAR'hS-
THK CHANGERS SCHEME INVOLVING LoSs VI
POPULAR LIBERTY AND STEP TOWARD cEN-
REALIZATION.
TO the Bdtfor Of The tribune
SIR: The history of the world affords no paraiiei
to the progress made by the States OF lndiaha'
Illinois and Iowa in all the great essentials .na'
constitute the prosperity of States The cohs'ruc
ton of railroads has contributed more than every
thing else to this end There are 1888 miles OF
railway in Indiana, 6,47i in Illinois. and ooif III
Iowa These roads were constructed because OF the
inducements held ont by the people of these States
to capitalists for the profitable employment OIL ther
money In most instances these hopes have not
been realized. Only a small number of railroad
companies pay dividends to the stockholders Inc
great majority scarcely pay the interest Oh 'ne
construction bonds While this is the fact as to 'he
companies the country through which the roaus eA-
tend has been made hundred times richer than IL
otherwise would have been. Aud yet the very peo-
ple most benefited are pursuing 0 course OF pohcy
tending not only to injure those in existence,
but prevent the construction of Others.
The excuse for this u.s. it is said, too much Is
charged for transporting produce to Market al
railroads were made
train of cars is made up for a certain point, Dut
afterward the owner of the goods OIL one Of them
determines to have it left at point short OF Its hst
destination and he is charged more for it than II 1t
had been taken the whole distance. And now comes
Mr. Charles Francis Adams jr. (the great-grandson
of the great John Adams) and says 1t is great OUT
rage that the railroad company should charge for not
hauling the car to its first Dissipation. AS the
learned Mr. Adams conned that over III bis study, ne
no doubt regarded it as a monopoly extingulsher'
but any switch-tender who knows nothing ABOUT
metaphysics, and who has never read Sartor ke-
sartus, would inform the learned gentleman that
the reason for the extra charge Ia that 1T costs the
company more 10 stop q train, cut ont car anu
nlace it ON a side track than to haul it the whole
distance.
This instance of outrage and monopoly plunder
was related few days ago IN Congress, 10 sho" inc
necessity for the enactment of law to fix the price
at which transportation shall be done by railway
companies, and bill is now actually pending I'D
Congress for that purpose. Those two wise men,
Solomon and Wendell Phillips, are certainly mis-
taken There is something new under the sun.
The right to enact such a law, and thus to take
private property for public use, without just com
pepsaton as in effect this would do is found by the
advocates of the "hay-seed dispensatiOn' IN the
following words in the Constitution, Wiz Congress
shall have power to regulate commerce with
foreign nations and among the States ana with the
Indian tribes" To understand for what purpose
these words were put into the Constitution, and the
extent of the power they confer it il only necessary
10 glance at the reason given for doing 80 at the
time of the formation of that instrument Under
the Articles of Confederation the States regulated
commerce among themselves as they deemed proper
as they were not restricted by those articles The
tobacco of Virginia taken into North Carolina, was
taxed by that State. as that of North Carolina
taken to Virginia and so with the other States in
relation to other articles Of commerce
When says Judge Story one State imposed high
duties on the goods vessels of foreign power TO
cOuntervail the regulations OF such powers, the
next adjoining States imposed lighter duties TO IN
vite those articles into their ports that they might
be transported thence into other States, securing
the duties themselves. This constructive policy in
some of the States soon counteraced by others.
Restraints were Immediately put on such commerce
by the suffering States and thus state OF affairs.
disorderly and unnatural, grew up the necessary
tendency of which was to destroy the Union ITSELF
This discordant action of the State did more than
all other causes to produce the present Constitution
The power thus to regulate commerce" land not the
CHARGES for its transportation surrendered by the
States to the General Government. for the purpose
of harmony and hence the provision as it now stands
In commenting upon this provision Justice Story.
who, whatever may now bo thought. was once pre-
sumed to know something of the purposes and pow
ers of the Constitution, says Indeed, without this
power to regulate commerce among the States the
power of regulating foreign commerce would be in
effectual" He then inquiries to what extent and
for what purposes the power to regulate commerce
may be constitutonally applied He answers first,
as among the States, and says:
IL il not doubted that 1t extends TO the regulation OF
navigation and the cOasting trade and fisheries within,
as well az without State wherever IL ~ connected
with the commerce Intercourse with other State,
or with foreign nations 10 extends to the regulation
and government OF board OF American ships,
comforting privileges upon ships built aud owned
ia United States, i'll domestic as well as foreign
trade extends TO quarantine laws and TO pilOtage
laws and wrecks the IL extends 10 the naviga
lion vessels engaged III carrying passengers whether
steam vessels other descrptiOns well the Dav
CATION OF vessels engaged In traffic aud general cOastng
business IL extends to the laying OF embarg0s well
on domestic foreign voyages. IL extends TO the
construction OF lighthouses the placing Of buOYs and
beacons the removal Of distractions TO navigation In
creeks rivers sounds and BAYS and the establishment
OF securities navigation against the nrOads OF the
ocean extends also to the designation OF particular
ports of entry and delivery for the purposes Of
merce.
Mr. Justice Story does not. as will be seen by the
above even in the most remote manner intimate
that this power extends to fixing the price to be
charged for the transportation of " commerce
among the States" If great and important
power exists certainly it would have been recog-