Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1882-08-13
REGULATING RAILROADS.

Congress had before it at its late ses-
sion no less than nine bills intended
10 regulate the railroads. None of them
appear to have had much chance of be-
coming laws, and most OF them ought
never to become laws. One of the best
of them was that Of Mr.. HENDERSON,
which only contemplated the creation
of an advisory commission, in part to
obtain information for Congress and in
part to represent the people Of the eoun-
try in protesting against action by rail-
road companies that is prejudieal to
public interests. Mr.. G. F. ADAMS, Jr.,
has also prepared the draft of bill for
the creation of such a commission. Mr..
ADAMS is entitled to the rank of an ex-
pert in railroad matters, not SO much
because he has long been studying the
problem, as because he has for years
served on such a commission as his
draft of a bill eontemplates, and one
that has succeeded admirably in per-
forming the work desired by the people
to be done.
One of these Congressional bills pro-
posed to create commission endowed
with power to fix the rates of transpor-
tation for passengers and freight, and an
other proposed to fix six per cent. on
the actual value of its property as the
maximum net profit to be made by a
railroad company. Neither Of these
bills can be justified. No commission
can properly determine the rates of
freight and passenger transportation,
and there is no reason why stockholders
of railroads be limited to profit OF six
per cent. The impossibility Of doing
the former is shown by the failure Of
the Illinois Commission to do it. Gov
crnment commissioners, having no in
terests in the railroads, and having po-
litical aspirations to be promoted by
popularizing themselves, cannot be de-
pended on to make n just tariff, and ii
they could be relied upon to resist the
temptation to abuse the trust committed
10 them i'm response to popular elamor,
they could not be relied on to possess
the necessary knowledge; for what is
fair i'm one road would be much too
high or much too low in another. In
fact, the government might almost as
we'll eonfiseate the roads as to attempt
to fix the scale Of rates. Glow rates"
would become a political cry; parties
would insist On thssoaaRaiSioners cut
ting downptbe scale, and thers.w be
a colstars e ~ IL . Certain part Of the
public to get an lhsbensats ofths rail-
road system, and leave the stockholders
to bear the burdens. lsia ~
There is no justice in the demand
that railroad profits shall be limited to
six per cent. Nor is there any policy in
il. 1.-THE managers of railroad are to
reap no benefit from an economical and
efficient management aseompared with
an extravagant snd careless one, they
viii cease to be economical and saga
eious. When stockholders have carried
railroad along without any profit for
several years, they are certainly en-
titled, when the road begins to pay, to
get more than six per cent. dividends;
they are entitled when the road is pros
porous to such indemnity as they can
secure for the losses they incurred in
= getting the road into its prosperous con-
.diiion.
Yet railroad companies are not enti-
tied to get all they can; they are quail
fled monopolies; they are not subject to
competition to any such extent IS other
business concerns are; they cannot BE-
allowed to use to its fullest extent the
leverage afforded them by the nature OF
their business, and the franchise con-
ferred by the public, for the purpose of
extorting unreasonable compensation
for their services. They cannot be al
allowed to enjoy all the privileges in re-
Wv be allowed to a
NnufActurer, be-
TO all the dis
Ntition
'urer