The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1875-10-21
subdsided in financial ruin.
TIE MASSACHUSETTS, SYSTEM.

Six yearsago, in the height of the railroad
discussion, a board of commissioners was
established in Massachusetts, and became a
member of it, The principle upon which it
was established, l, at the time, thought
wholly unsatisfactory. I have since con-
| cluded that it was a wonderfully hap
DIV legislative guess. The board had no pow
er, or next to none. 1t was simply an agency
through which publicity could be secured /;
it was to be lens through which the scatter
ed, diverging, individually powerless rays of
public opinion could be concentrated into a
! focus, and brought to bear on any given
point of railroad management. In those
DAYS had netthat faith in the power OF
public opinion which / now have, and it
seemed to me that the law which organized
our board and placed us face to face with
| those great corporations, powerless to do
more than to investigate and to discuss-it
seemed to me that this law was framed in a
total misrepresentation of the necessities of
the case ,-that it left us in position which
| challenged contempt. The fact is, that, like
most officials, | yearned for more power, |
wished to be able to compel, as well as to
recommend l wanted a little force bill of
my own. This [ am now rejoiced to say the
Legislature of Massachusetts, was too wise,
perhaps too wisely distrustful, to give me.
The law was badly, clumsly framed but it
was based on very simple idea A board
| of arbitratOrS was to be created with certain
! supervisory powers, it then became the duty
| of its members to investigate every complaint
brought against any railroad corporation;
and this, too, without cost to the party
bringing it. If necessary, they were to give
public hearings, and, as the result thereof,
they were to address such recommendations
to the railroad companies as in their judg
ment circumstances might require. Finally,
once each year, the recommendations thus
made with the action of the corporations
| thereon, were to be reported to the leg;s-
lature, which in that way reserved the power
of dealing with the obdurate unreasonable
exclusively in it's own hands, so that the com
missioners were thrown back to a reliance on
publicity and the support of public opinion,
with the legislative power very much in the
reserve.
After six years trial in many xavs, | am
now prepared to say that such reliance is
better far than any force bill. 1t has
brought about in Massachusetts, a condition
OF good nature which is the first essential to
success. The railroad commissioners of
Massachusetts, are not mere prosecuting
officers, the recognized and natural enemies
of the corporations; they are, on the con
trary, above all else arbitrators, and as 5ucn,
bound first, foremost and always, to be on
amicaole terms nth the one party as we'll as
the other. the result has been GO
satisfactory to me as it was unexpected; our
actions is almost always accepted by the par
ties before Us as final, and do not now re-
call anv case in which a subsequent legisla-
] -, ,,%n ho, rb+ co.,
Scarcely week passes in which causes of
complaint are not brought to our notice, for
a postal card is sufficient for that purpose,
and invariably the same course is pursued
with them. In the first place, the head Off
cial of the corporation is called upon and his
attention called to the subject and usually
the matter ends here with satisfactory ex-
PLANTATION ora sufficient measure of relief.
The officials know that we wish to be fair
and reasonable, and we find them disposed to
be the same-at least they are always anxious
enough to avoid public issue. Sometimes,
however, it comes to that, and formal hear
ings have to be given las a result of which we
decide sometimes in favor of the corpora
tons, sometimes of the petitoner-but
always in writing ard stating our reasons in
full. When we are forced to this extreme,
however, we no longer address ourselves to
subordnates, whether they call themselves
superintendent, general managers, presidents
or what not but now we 90 clean over their
heads and bring the subject directly to the
notice of the board of directors, insisting on
a yes or no action on their part. This course
of treatment generally produces results, f r
it means publicity. For instance, "a year or
two ago we became satisfied that the
bridges on one of the main lines of the State
were in an unsatisfactory condition. We
addressed the president of the company on
the subject, and our communication was, |
presume, duly pigcon-holed by him; at any
rate, we heard nothing of it, After Whiting
a reasonable time, we addressed second and
more formal communication to the
board of directors, with a distinct,
though polite intimation that. if necessary,
we should call in the public. The effect was
! instantaneous. We at once received a for
NAL reply, requesting us to cause any exam
nation we deemed necessary to be made,
and assuring us that everything necessary
should be done. Within the next year,
every bridge on that road was thoroughly
Cverhauled or renewed.
When it comes to direct issue, the cor
porations do not like to put themselves in
! public antagonisn TO any well-considered
action of our board. They will, perhaps,
resist up to the last point, but when it comes
to clear issue, with the equities agains.
them, they invariably yield they are stub
born only when thev feel they have strong