Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-02-23
Rail'cdy AQe.

AdattCQY Age.
That there Is a very strong and increas-
ing undercurrent of public sentiment op-
posed to giving boards of railway COM
missiOners the power to establish sched-
ules of rates is evident. In those States
where bills TO create such boards are
under discussion before the legislatures
now i'm session, leading newspapers are
no longer afraid TO sound note of warn
ing against the granting of such powers.
and the consequent interference bv I'M
skilled and irresponsible persons
with matters upon which the
prosperity of States depeud The
arguments before the House Committee
on Commerce against such interference
have been widely published, and il is
noticeable that some Of the strongest of
these have been advanced by manufacture
ers who have no direct railway interests
The Kentucky Board of Railway Commits
sloners IN their annual report just issued,
while urging the need of enlarged powers
do not suggest that they shall be author
lZed TO regulate charges for railway trans
portatiOn, but expressly refer for exam
pies Of what they consider necessary to
States in which the powers of such Boards
are chiefly advisory. The experiences'of
south Carolina, Kansas and Texas under
rate-regulating commissions have not
Deen satisfactory to the business interests
Of those States
Leaving out of consideration the funda-
mental and always sufficient objection to
the principle of empowering such bodies
TO establish schedules of freight and pas
senger charges, viz: that it is an inter-
ference with private business unWarrant-
ed by any principle OF law and unrecOg-
nlzed IN the general business world. there
IS another reason why railway regulation
OF TINS sort must, in the end, produce in
furious results. 1t is practically impos-
sible for the men who compose a railway
commission to grasp all the elements of
the problem of rates. To prop
erly arrange freight tariff for
single railway taxes the best brains
that can be procured by high salaries and
favorable conditions. 70 determine what
VIII be fair to rival towns on the same
line; what Will encourage the enlarge
ment of established industries and pro-
mote the development of new ones. and
thus provide business for the future as
well as the Immediate present-these and
many other questions meet the traffic
manager OF every railway, and must be
carefully considered in making anv
schedule OF rates which shall be fair to
the corporation as well as 10 the public,
Just as long as railways are built by
private capital for the purpose of protita-
bic investment, these questions Will
be OF prime Importance. But railway
commissioners do not and cannot know
enough to answer them. No man. much
more no body of men, outside OF the NAM
agement of a railway, can master the in
trlcacIes OF the problem. And TO take
the problem from those who are connected
with such management and require it to
be solved by board of railway commits
sloners, is to turn from those most COM
petent to the practically ignorant and I'M
skilled. And this general principle is
recognized by those commissioners who
seem to have studied the problems of rail
way management most thoroughly The
Kentucky board says in its last report.
referring TO the VeXed question of local
rates:
Il ntIl we know more of the operations
of the roads and understand their affairs
better it is difficult to pass on this ques-
ton. The commission does not wish to
make any recommendation that VIII ham,
per the companies doing business in Ken
lucky, or in any way deprive them of the
Just reward Of their labOrs and invest
ments."
Such an admission is, under the circum-
stances, very creditable indeed, and if the
same spirit of wisdom had prevailed in
the Legislature of Mississippi while the
bill for a railway board was under discus
sion the business interests of that State
would have been spared much injury
which IS now inevitable, That State. be-
ing entirely without experience in the
matter, proposes to withdraw the making
of rate schedules from those who know
most about it and place it in the hands of
those who know little or nothing. In doing
this it has ignored the results of recent
experience, both in this country and Eng
land, as well as violated established and
most important principles of law and
business