Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1878-01-29
We learn from Gen. stoneman

WE learn from Gen. Stoneman
That the prospects of satisfactory
RETALIATION on freiGhts and fares
WAS never better at Sacramento
khan It Is to-day. The Railway
company is thoroughly alarmed;
bud, from the energy of its opposi-
|tion, we may judge of the firmness
LOT the purpose to redeem the DEM
|ocratic pledge for an equitable
|freights and fares bill. The DEM
|ecratic Board of Transportation
commissioners have done their
work cautiously. Should
their several bills be enacted into
law, no State in the Union would
present . railway system so en-
'tirely under the control OF local
Regulation as California. AS be-
tween Railway corporations and
the people the principle Of live
and let liven 10 the true one. We
are willing to let corporations earn
fair dividends, but the population
whose servitors they are supposed
to be should not languish to admit
OF this. We should like to see our
Pacific Cas,... Railways, for once,
try the plan Of gauging what would
be the effect Of policy which
should aim strictly at development,
with immediate profit to the rail-
ways as the secondary idea. How.
evsr unpromising the result might
be for = few months, we are con.
WINGED that year or two Of such
. policy. through the stimulated
settlement, growing confidence anG
accompanying prosperity of the
State, would pay our Railway.
much better than under the pres
ont regime. Then, besides, they
would find that discomfort haC
vanished and that hatred and dis
trust were replaced by universe
good humor. The experiment
would certainly be worth
tho trial. If the results
should prove to be unsatisfactory
the railways could face the Califor
MIA Legislature with infinitely
stronger arguments than are nov
available. We are quite willing t.
admit-that California is a sparssly
settled State, and that rates boil
for fares and freights should b,
relatively high. Take, for instance
the stretch of country between Lo!
Angeles and Mojave and Los An
geles and Yuma, and compare il
with any equal extent of country
radiating from New York City
There are thousand people wht
avail themselves of railway facili
ties on the one to single person
who does so on the other. From
this standpoint the position of the
railway people is almost impreg-
nable. But there is another view
of the question which should re.
ceive careful consideration. A
tourist or intending settler can
travel first-class from San Francis
co to Portland, by steamer, a dis
lance of GIG miles, for 81 so, while,
by rail, it costs him to go from
San Francisco to Los Angeles, O
distance of considerably less than
five hundred miles, nearly $50.
The question is, would not the
railway company carry four people
to Southern California, where they
now carry one, if the rates were
half the present schedule? We be.
lieve they would, and that the set
Element following on the heels of
such travel would build up remu-
nerative business for the road. If
we cannot get the railway co mpa-
MES themselves to try such exper-
iments, it is right that they should
be initiated by the Legislature.
We should have the satisfaction of
knowing, at least, that we could
take the "back track" if the result
did not confirm the manifesto.