Bismarck weekly tribune., 1885-02-20
TOO MUCH RAILROAD LEGISLA-
TlON.

dreamers who imagine that all the evils
incident to suffering humanity can be
corrected by statrtary enactment, that
men can be made moral by the same.
A few generations ago there were those
that believed that theological dogmas
could be successfully crammed down
the throats of unbe]ievers by royal edict
or by act of parliament. The present
mania for legislating upon railroads is
Just about as senseless. Demagogues
take advantage of it, and every loud
mouthed, pretended friend ofthe people,
comes forward with some Legislative
scheme to curb, what is popularly be-
lieved to be, the dangerous power OF rail-
roads and railroad corporations. Ihey
do great deal to arouse senseless and
increasing prejudice against the great
system of transportation, which, within
the memory of this generation, has done
such mighty work in building up this
great nation. But for the railroads this
vast northwestern empire, the home OF
more than half a million of people, would
to-day have been the hunting ground OF
the Sioux and the pasture of the buffalo.
Is it wise now at this era Of our history
to 90 to work and by vexatious legisla-
tion, discourage the spirit of enterprise
which induces capital to build railroads
and open the country. They are needed
to open the country to settlement. They
ought to be encouraged and not dis
couraged. Let us inquire what has been
the result of restriction, intermedling
vexatious legislation in the past upon
the railroads and upon the people at
large? The TRIBUNE believes that it
can be shown to the satisfaction of reas-
enable men that it is better to leave this
railroad problem to the operation OF
natural laws, instead of attempting to
solve it by the arbitrary means OF legisla-
ton. Let us take as comparison the
time when railroads were left to the
natural laws of business and the later
times when they were regulated by
statute laws. The study is an interest
ING one and takes several forms:
I, 1t is noticed that when left to competi-
ton, unvexed by statute laws, the railroads re-
duced rates of freight to a lower limit than
ever before. In l86j-68 aud later, grain Was
! SO cents at the highest and 43 cents al the
lowest per hundred pounds between Chicago
and New York. The average was 63 cents. In
| 1876 it was 90 cents. Out of the Granger laws
| since 1877 the pooling system was originated.
l. grew out of the necessity to defend, on the
ra-t of the railroads, against absolute ruin.
This pooling system has been an undcuote
evil. 1t has not only maintained rates-thls Is
not necessarily bad-but it has been the means
of retarding progress and depressing busin 9ss.
And it grew directly out of the Granger laws.
Thus while natural laws were steadily aud rap
idly reducing freight rates, the Granger laws
stopped all this and led to the evil of pooling
q 1t isa point to be noticed some years
hence, that just az pooling is about to be aban-
doned, new legislative assaults are being mace
on the railroads. 1t is quite evident that the
railroads are sick of the pooling busiress. 1t
works badly in many ways, is evaded, and will
be abandoned if the roads are left to natural
laws. 1t remains to be seen whether the at
tempted legislative assaults shalt succeed. and
how far they will 90. Rut with the contrast
between the period covered by natural compe-
| tition and that If the Granger laws-about ten
years each-it is evident that it is far better to
leave the railroads to natural laws than to
those on the statute book.
8. Statistics bearing on several facts in this
connection are significant. They show that
during the period of natural reduction the
amount involved in the reduced rates of one
year built the railroads of the next. Thus tie
economies created the railroad permancies 1t
is estimated that our growth in population
should have 5000 miles cf new railroad each
wear to accommodate it. When natural compe
tition existed the growth in railroads kept
normal pace with it. In Granger years it tell
off from ne-half to tw> thirds. This affected
employment to tho extent Of half million of
periods. These are startling showings. And
vet they seem to be beyond dispute.
This lesson is clear. That which must
be governed by natural laws, cannot be
artifcially regulated, so as to give success.
Do not railroads come under this head
Originally, when few are limited, they
were controlled by few and oppressively
welded. But that day has gone by. The
law of supply and demand operates. If
a railroad does not act justly another is
built. The idea once prevailed that non
competitive points should be charged ex-
cessive rates. The result was that such
points were blotted out by building new
roads. Thus where railroad has good
local traffic, it now understands that it
must keep it by treating the people right.
And as the pooling business is about
breaking up, railroads needed only to be
left to natural laws to meet the wants of
the people. It need not be feared that
what were once known as great railroad
monopolies will ever again appear in this
country. Their day is past, and the only
legislation needed is that which 'will
probably regulate, and leave them as to
,e,e, ;%;on tn tho natural laws,