Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-12-17
Railway Nlal,aHersa
From the st. Paul Globe,

From the st. Paul Globe,
In all the dseussions, bo'h in and eat
Of coar2-s. relating TO the ,ontr,l ofrail
ways by government auIhn:i'y and DE
II "ccss''y for tiAing he rates olsans p"'ra.
ton l,y the Legislative ena.tmrn' ttn
whole .hiecl has been uisru Ssed spon
the theory that the management OF the
railway is simply a b lsineaa mana"c
n.rnl seeking the succ 's~ Ui the corpora
ton as a business tn'e'pr'se. 1t seems
singular that it has never occurred ln
tho e who are dealing with this question
hat there is ancf:,cr view N 1t, and.
Wien leaked al IN. the secret ct many
| Of The most serious abuse ot' which the
nnhlic contains is revealed IT railway
ma a9ers were conducting the railway
business Of the country with no other
object in view than the success Of the
corporation as a business "nttr;rse the
al|way problem valid l'e divcs'e'' Of
mrny of its most complicated feature.
Eat Just there hes the s .cret OF the
whole trouble, l'ai}yoal mnnagers do
not conduel the railway business on that
basis. They conduct il more exclusively;
in The Interest Of The managers, which
is more or less distinct from the Interests
of The company itself. The railway
official becomes associated With some
private business enterprise. He then
,, u es his power as r railway Official to
secnre Discrimination in dis own ta1 Or;
! and the railway corporation under. his
management is made tie N 1runent TO
build up f:r:!,. ;,n Industry or even a
CITY IN which the railway !NArager Or
! his friends have II rccuniar> interest, a
! he expense, aud often ruin, OF com
pei'Ofs. The result has ben a complete
Destruction Of everything Ike commercial
,'enioc>trv, ana the establishment on it,
ruins OF lile most absolute form OF
| tle>potism That has ever seen known n
| the history Dj commerce, These man
agerial cUnpirscies:do not al1ev co1int.
their operations 10 d< <.'ro.ting ri, al
business enterprises and planlefing
communities, but they go 50 far some
|times as TO wi]fully wreck the corpora
I lions which have been entrusted 10 their
management The grounds f>r public
complaint are uo' found in the railway
system so~much as they are discovered
IN the system OF managerial! conspiracy
which has grown up>ou'sida Of the raj
way system prope..and which has
misused the power Of The railway man
ager to pervert the railway system iato
| an instrument of oppression and exso'',
ton. t.. In framing legisl1ou relating to
the control Of ,he railway system Of the
country, the first step. should be to lop
| off this excressence Of managerial con;
spiraacy If railwaye are public high
ways, and if railway companies are
public corporations subject to Legislative
control. then the state ought 10 have The
| power to define the qualifications OF
railway managers, IF it does posses*ss
that power then the first step should be
to disaualify a person from holding q
Iposition in araiiway company who irs
| Enthusiastically or indirectly, in any
commercial, manufacturing. or produe-
] tive enterprise On The line of the road
.lvilh which he IS connected If this
/ could be denesand the attention OF the
railway manager be devote exclusively
I to securing the sues ess Of his sorp pora.
ttion as abusi iaess enterprise i would |, rs n.l
|be long unit The p,lhlic and The railroads
/ coulp reach q n sltual untle 4 Hrsiandi ling
that would lie perfectly salisfaet tol to e
| both. q ss5