St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-02-04
R4TLROID LEGISL4TTOy

If the legislature does not take judicious
action upon the railroad and warehouse bill
it will not be for lack Of intelligent discus
sion. At meeting of the railway commit
tee of the Legislature last night the claims Of
the railroads were presented by the attorneys
of the Milwaukee and Omaha roads and the
president of the Manitoba line, in clear,
able, earnest and forcible manner. The In
terests of the grangers were presented with
equal force and ability by several leading
members of the body. The railroad
problem is an old story in legis-
lative bodies. There is scarcely session of
the legislature in a single state of the Union
but what it comes up with great regularity
and promptness, and probably will, until
after forty years Of laundering, as the Eng
lish government did, we discover that the
railroad problem is a thing sal ge,seriS, and not
subject to the laws which govern ordinary
enterprises.
1t is conceded that producers have frequent
grievances against railroad corporations in
the matter Of freight transportation, but it is
doubtful whether in proportion to the amount
OF grumbling. Popular discomfort is not
always a safe basis to found legislation upon,
especially with reference to subjects of value.
But the disposition of the age is to fly to the
legislature for the correction Of all evils.
Hence we find this question of regulating
railroad tariffs before all our legislative
bodies.
To deal with it intelligently and justly is
one of the most Intricate problems that could
be presented to a legislature for solution. On
the one hand are the producers, constituting
a large body of the population Of a country,
and the most useful class, crippled in their
energies and often wronged out Of that which
is justly the fruit of their labors by extortions
which exist from the mplications arising
from an adjustment Of the business of
railroad lines, to enable them to compete
successfully with rival roads. Human ma
ture is human nature the world over, and
without stopping to consider causes the suf-
ferers look only at effects and go to work to
organize a combination by which
to throttle the monster, as they
conceive it to be, which is crushing the life
out of their energies and para!yzing their
industries. Generally, the result of such
agitation is cast iron legislation against
transportation companies. On the other
hand the railroad companies claim, very
naturally, that they are entitled under the
laws OF a commonwealth to have their prop
erty protected and their investments secured
- them. There is plauslbility in this argu-
ment, for under our governmental system
the state has no right to divest an individual
of his property, not even for public uses, with
out just cOmpe nsation. There Is a sentiment
of equity which accOrds to the owners of rail-
road properly,as to the owners of other kinds
of property, the right after having invested
their money in a legitimate enterprise to
control ITS operation in a way to suit the pur-
poses of the owner. Again it can be said on
behalf Of the railroads that in their business,
just as in any other business, the condition
of 1exibility is Il prime necessity for sue
cessful management, and that when the
state, by Legislative enactment or through
the inStrumentaity of com missioners,
fixes an arbitrary and infexible
tariff rate it destroys the most
essential feature of great business enter
prise. There are many arguments that can
be adduced on either side of this veyed Ques-
ton, and, therefore, II becomes an important
duty To egisi tive body to move cautiously
and in spirit of fairness to all interests in
adjusting so grave matter.