The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-12-29

the through freight to the Canadian roads
or the water routes, and would be disas-
trous TO some American lines. The fact
that to other competing lines It would be
less disastrous is but another objection to
the measure.-it discriminates unfairly in
favor of some and against other railroads
A through freight train runs without stops
at local stations. Every such stoppage
wears rails wheels, brakes and all rolling
stock, wastes fuel and steam and loses time
The local freight must go by local trains,
which incur all this added cost. The
through train starts with full cars and ends
with full cars. There is neither delay nor
cost for shifting. The local train, if 1t starts
with all cars full, cannot take on additional
freight that may be waiting at the first or
any other station. it starts with two
hundred tons, delivering freight at different
stations, it may take on an equal amount,
or much less, or none. Hence 1t cannot run
with full cars-that is, a part of the guam
tty of freight which its engine can draw
has to pay all the cost, and that cost is far
higher than the cost of running a through
train over the same distance. Investors
know these facts. Legislation which dis
regards them is apt to appear to invest
ors not only foolish, but wantonly unjust,
and, in effect, a conhscation of property
On the other hand, the Boston Jour-
nal remarks that while all such criti-
cisms might have some bearing on the
Reagan bill they do not apply to the
compromise bill:
The latter is not pro rata mileage law,
and roads which make through shipments
jointly are not required to put local traffic
on the same footing. Moreover, the bill
distinctly provides, with reference to this
"short and long-haul" feature, that upon
application to the commission appointed
under the provisions of the act a common
carrier may, in special cases. after invest-
CATION by the commission be authorized to
charge less for longer than for shorter dis
tances-that is to say, it defines the general
principle upon which the operations of the
railroads must go on, but provides for a
flexible application of the principle, in the
discretion of the commission. The powers
of this commission are, indeed, very SINH
lar to those exercised by the state commits
sions, whose work has been beneficial both
to the public and to the railroads.
The bill in its present shape is not
wholly acceptable to the railway mana
gers. One of them, Mr.. Chauncey M.
Depew, says railroad men do not OBJ
iect to a system of governmental super
vision that is elastic, comprehensive
and impartial; but they are opposed to
arbitrary, iron-clad regulations which
have no regard to circumstances and
which would make the successful opera
ton of railroads impossible. He claims
that the pooling system is simply a
device to secure to the public fixed,
stable and reasonable rates alike to
every one" if the pool arrange
ments are destroyed railroad wars 7"
will be inevitable, and he further claims
that there has never been such war
which has not been followed by sus-
pensions of furnaces and factories and
an industrial disturbance along the
lines of the roads engaging in them,
which has thrown hundreds of thou
sands of workers out of employment.
But it appears that Mr.. Depew has
also overlooked the fact that the con-
ference bill gives the railroad COM
mission power to suspend the pro-
visions most Objectionable in special
cases, after special investigation. A
good deal, however, would depend
upon the character of the commission
1t might be so constituted that the rail.
roads would be unable to get anything
like justice or fair-dealing from it, or il
might be so constituted as to render
the law of no practical effect. 1t would
perhaps, be better to bind the com
mission by specific provisions of law
than to invest it with too much Of
arbitrary power or leave too much tC
its discretion.