The Portland daily press., 1886-12-20
RAILROAD REGULATION.

Chauneey III. Depew, speaking of the in
ter-state commerce bill now before Congress,
says if it should become law it would ruin
the extreme West. The commission feature
of the bill Mr.. Depew approves of; it is
Reagan's bin which has been attached to it
that he thinks will do the mischief
While some measure regulating interstate
commerce is imperatively necessary, we
should look out and not get one that will do
more harm than good. Railroads derive very
valuable franchises from the public, and
therefore they ought to some extent to be
under the control of the public. But much
of the legislation in regard to them originates
in spirit of hostility, as if their existence
were inimical to the people. The railroad
has come, in the eyes of a great many, to rep
resent monopoly They hate monopoly. and so
they hate the railroad. Doubtless there have
been great abuses in the management of our
railroads and doubtless the public has often
been badly Aeeced by them. But after all
there is no species of property in which the
general public have SO deep an interest and
the Gripping of which would produce so
wide spread disaster as the railroad. Rail
road bonds constitute large part of the in
vestments of our savings banks and trust
companies and great many of them are
held by men of moderate means. So when
Congress or State legislatures undertake to
impose upon railroads rules and regulations
that will surely cripple them and reduce their
earning power they are jeopardizing the in
comes of great many people of moderate
means all over the country. They are I'M
dermining the poor mans deposit in the saw
ings bank.
1t is very risky undertaking for body
Of men not specially familiar with railroads
to set out to frame a code of
rules for their management even when
they approach the subject in a spirit
of candor and friendliness, but when,
as generally happens nowadays in leg
islatiye body, considerable part of them
are ready to pander to the demagogcal out
cry against railroads in the hope of ingratia-
ting themselves with certain classes of vo-
tiers, the rules that are framed are certain to
work injustice. Indeed that is what good
many who help make them want them to
work. They seem to have an idea that if
| they cripple the railroads they punish Jay
| Gould or some other bloated monopolist.
when, as a matter of fact they are not pun
ishing those interesting persons half SO
much as the innocent stockholders and
bondholders. For some years past the SEN
ate has had before it bill which while il
laid down certain rules for the control OF
railroads took into account the fact
that those rules if infexible often
times might work great harm. The
Senate therefore committed their enforce
ment to a commission to which discre-
ten was given to relax them under certain
circumstances. The Senate plan was sub
stantially the plan that has been in opera
ton in Massachusetts for some years and
has satisfied both the public and the rail.
roads. The House, however, wanted the
rules like the laws of the Modes and Per.
slams, unaterable. Neither House has been
willing to give way, and so nothing has been
done. Recently some sort of compromise
the nature of which is not quite clear, has
been patched up between the committees o.
the two houses. Apparently what has beer
done is to tack the two bills together The
commission has been retained and Judge
| Reagan's rules retained also. How it will
work remains to be seen, but if Mr.. Depew'.
anticipations are well founded it will work Q
great deal of mischief