, 1874-02-16


,r,,r,os ,roro o,,y,o,;voa IN ,r,,, l., 1o~,,,,,a
s"ainst cnrnorat;nna M nronnndororcn ~ of nyis
dG6sn, ,uI i. tinir rar,ctu WV an, 1"th,r
eostai, H,1,tta ~ tt'o sron',rt =, I,,a o."itv
,c,,;" aa esa oa ,,ai,, ~ saa s, aanl,
enncnaaiwa v,nintinn ~ Tia in,r e Ao0'0 AoA o'0
n ivy ,vn' ;} sg " M
rniv tH70 Ail,nn1, ia rorrnra ,io,,s rofuao1 n
o"Imu,ylodno itn ynIs,ty NJ, t,o nronm1 tiatft no
tam to npov;ns s,v v sna Sn ~
Of tbo,r % c'artoro @ rits tncy cc1nrn m HIT IN.
tontion Of rowling thoir tnrIfrs in Atrial no.,
formity to itB provisions 90 fnr IA ti,oy ro]ated
10 the matter Of t[iecrinltnation. Hccorifurly
A NEW sEr or rAntrry
WAS arranged hy tllom to tako olreot on tl,o first
friends OF tho law aIlcre that thcso tnriffs woro
however, with Now to rontiorinr Tho
law otliotg by bringing ita onnroBnyo foatnroa.
wIloro otly s,cll coEid be loyolonefl. into nromf
caBo; but. unon this noint Tim Commig-
pionnra nf hfnnRnchnsctf4 ,hnvc m mcans ~
nrriyinr Mt a conciunion. b,ca,,whiio tIn 1iinois
Observation-Disclosures. In nnrnniinn,,o viii Tia nro-
Visions Of tho law proparol additional tarIfrs of
tlIoir own for the various roads Of The State.
WHICH, unless otherwise or1orod l,y Tho I,oeisln.
t,,ro. viii tnlo effect 1pon thg 15fh of Jnnitary
1874, M prin1n fncio ovidonce OF whot.in rensoa-
oblo. rhceo ofIiuiatt aollelIloa hayo 6oof .n,th.
lipl,od. antl effect yory considerable reduction
from the rates established ty the corporations
themselves ln their tariffs of July i, Il
ia understood tlat tic corporations do
not propose to my attention to tl,on,,
rho Commissioners layo, meanwhile, insti-
ttu.od teat easos under tho clauses Of tho
and thoao caaos aro now pending botoro tlo
courts,
Tho legal aspoots of tho Illinois discussion
;posseBs 1lo immediate interest for tho peo3le OF
tho rairoad chartota Of thiB stato aro subject to
Legislative alteration, amendment, or repeal.
Accortlinrly. should tho GonarnI Court Of
Massachusetts HOO fit to pass law similar
to tint Of Illinois, no question al to
its binding forco conta well be raiaod.
as regards its inhoroat morlts. tho low
Of Illinois III very ....
orEN TO CRITICISM. .
It ia unquostionably great improvement on
tic previous law. It is bascd on moro correct
principles, In that It aoohs to do away with inc
quality md instability III the cost Of tranaporta-
aa the ono penalty 1or violation OF tie net. It
further lonvcH room Tor the Use OF certain do
groo OF dlscrosloh 20 lileot tho requirements
OF Individual LIMOS II aoea not eoek to impose
IN many respeets IT III most unskil'fuily
drawn, and roYealb, on tue part Of those WHO
frau,cd 1t, not only great lac1 Of famil-
,arlty WITH the mportant Interests thoy under,
took TO rGuia1e, bue nlso nottcoablo disregard
Of somewlat obvious economical principles. IN
that tue llllnols Legislature cannot pursue tho
nlassachusotts hystom oI preliminary hearings
bofofo conamietoes pending tho framing OF billB-
fl1s System may 10 opon to grave objections,
Dut IT certalh'Y prevents tho rolortlng anti pass-
age OF many lll,consiaored measures. 1t il, for
instance Mnicult 70 penose tnas many proYls-
ions OF tho llinota Inv could la1o stood tho toat
OF Alassachusetts scoHmlttoo-learlng ln Just
go lar, It III accordingly woakor than It need to
hafe been, aud must break down aud be aulenl-
ell. even H10rlu ltH EDDBtltIt1CnHlitV t1
talnea'
TIE REVOLUTION.
But, notwithstanding these mo1lfications 1t
may woll le questioned whether tho Legislature
of Illinois waB possosscd with MI adeguste sense
Of tho magnitude, not Of tho change, hnt of tho
revolution it inauguratcd by tho pnasago Of this
laaY. It was, III fuct, nothing less than sweep
ing away OF the cntiro baais upon which not only
their raiiroad system Ind been built mp aul their
transportation carried on, but oven TINT upon
which population had distributed Itself iu tlleir
State. All this waB now sought to bo abolished
at given date, nnd now and very different
syBtom was to DO substituted III its ploco. Upon
tho lat of July composition as a regulating or
WIS to cease, and System of graduated
rates undor State supervision was to
tako its place. During nearly thirty years
it had been tho inevitable though unanticipatol
result Of public policy confidently rolled
upon aud zoalouHly pursued, to concentrate
NA
peting aud consequently greatly favored points.
This vas tho worry cssonce Of railroad compo.
tltion,-the obvious mud Inevitable result OF
free railroad construction. It could uoyor hnvo
been supposed TINT all points would bo sup.
piled with IN equal number Of competing roads,
and, in tho absence Of governmental restrictions
or control, it seemed necessarily to follow that
tho best supplied points could drive bottor bur-
gains than others with those who supplied them.
Tho corporations and tlloir methods of pro-
codure wero thus tho simple and Legitimate
results Of the political systetn mud public policy
which lad shaped their growth Tho difficulty
was no surface difficulty, but lay leop down at
the baso or the cconomlcnt and political organi.
zaton OF tho community. II arose from the
msarplicntion OF fundamental economical laws
The true causn Of complaint was with political
theory mlsupplied not properly with those WHO.
with only top much energy, had carried It out to
it's tinal logical concluBiona. Tho tAeprv aa il
now seen was mistaken one, and tho Bysteu
crouted under it, admirable in many respects, il,
others produced results both unexpected and
wroug-reHllts which tho community could moi
pormauontl, endure. None tho less, tic polio,
Which va founded on this theory, lad in lii
nois not only existed from the beginning, but il
lad been carefully fostcred by law. hot onl,
had tho business relations Of tho community
4,: