Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-12-23
Mr.. Phelps and the Interstate COM
merce Bill.

The speech of Representative Phelps IN
h,position TO the interstate commerce
bill is. perhaps, the heaviest bio" tha'
measure has yet received. In the carr!
part Of last week there did not seem 10 De
much reason to doubt that the bill would
pass the House by a very fair majority
1t is still probable that it will pass, but IL
has lost many friends since Mr.. Phelps
speech against il. Even if it gets through
the House its success is by no means as
sured. 1t Will hardly meet the approval
Of the Senate in its present shape, ana lne
changes that may be made in II o! Ih"'
body may finally cause Its defeat
OF course Federal legislation OF TINS
kind is experimental. II may accomplish
the purpose aimed at, but there are strong
reasons for thinking that it will not IL
Is in response to a very general demand
| for correction OF practices which are eN-
tremelv burdensOme and even injurious
| 10 business interests.
The point which Mr.. Phelps made with
| such force was that the railroads would
| not comply with the law, if enacted, be-
| cause their business was ct SUCH ma
ture that they could not.
For example. he said that in some in
| stances pooling was absolutely neces-
| sarv to prevent the railroads from be-
| coming bankrupt. Competition between
them was so great that in order to get
business they were forced to cut rates to
| such an extent that their revenues failed
to meet their expenditures. Again, they
were compelled to make determinations
in order to secure new business or to
hold the business they already had.
| There are hundreds of things which IN
fiuence rates of transportation, and 1t
would be impossible to make regulations
to meet all Of them.
There is, no doubt, much truth in what
Mr.. Phelps said, and his remarks have
already called out great deal Of COM
ment. To insure the prosperity Of the
railroads, and at the same time to take
the management Of their affairs from them
4 and pl2ee it in the hands Of inexperienced
: men tO could not make themselves
I thoroI 4lly acquainted with all the
n reasons which influence railroad rates in
any reasonable length Of time, is some
thing very difficult to accomplish, if in
fact, it is possible. 1t is being tried in a
small way in some of the States, but it
must be admitted that it hasn't proven
very satisfactory.
| 1t does seem, however, as If something
might be done to prevent such discrIm-
mating rates as tend to destroy the bust
ness OF one individual or company and
build up that of another. There are few
who do not remember the means by which
the Standard Oil Company became the
immense monopoly that 1t is. How many
small interests Of the same kind were
| ruined to build up that great one WI
| perhaps never be known.
| Assuming that Federal control of inter-
State railroads Will not prove to be
| wholly practicable, the fact that the
very highest order of talent is en-
| gagged in railroad management, while
| the running of railroads Is being
| rapidly reduced to almost scientific eX-
actness, is ground foF beljey ng that the
time is not very distant when The demand
| for Federal control of Interstate roads
will be much less than at present. Pro-
| gress in railroad management, perhaps,
will do what the advocates of Interstate
| commerce legislation are trying to ac-
| oOmuTfsh