Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-12-01
INTERSTATE COMMERCE.
The Commissioners Annual
Report.
LONG ANDSHORTH HAUL WORKINGS
Has the Act Benefited the Roads
and the General Public.
Rate Wars.
Associated Press Dispatches to the Herr

WASHINGTON, November 3O.-The re.
port of the Interstate Commerce Com
mission is now in type. From it the
following is taken:
From the best information now avail
able, the railroad mileage of the country
on the 3Oth of June, 1888, was estimated
at 152,7S1 OF which 1912 miles had
been completed and brought into opera.
ton within the six months Immediately
preceding that day.
A summary is made Of the formal
complaints. OF the 107 cases submitted,
fifty have been decided six have not
yet been decided; of nine the hearing
has not yet been completed; twenty
three were withdrawn or settled; ten
were suspended by request; nine as
signed for hearing.
LONG AND SHORT HALL.
In the section of the country north of
the Potomac and the Ohio, aud east of
the Missouri cases in which a greater
charge is made for shorter trans portation
are few, and their circumstances are
such that the complaint is not often
made that they operate oppressively
With some exceptions, resulting from
ocean com petion, the rule of the short
haul provision OF the law has been put in
| force upon the transcontinental roads,
where its operation and effect can be OBJ
served under, what now appears to be,
favorable circumstances. In the South
ern and Southwestern States, the Com
mission had reason to think the carriers
| we're moving more slowly in bringing
| their tariffs into conformity with the gem
eral statutory law, than in other sections.
Not being satisfied that this duty has
been sufficiently appreheuded and OBJ
served, the commission has ordered an
investigation to be made of the whole
subject.
EFFECTS OF THE ACT.
The report then takes up the subject
of the effect of the Inter State Commerce
act upon common carriers, and says al
though some railroad managers have de-
| clared it to have had a damaging effect,
the Commission is possessed Of no evil
dence showing that the general result has
been otherwise than beneficial. Rail
road business has suffered in the past
year, not because of the Inter State Com
merce act, but owing to strikes, new par
allel lines and rate wars.
RATE wARs--THEIR CAUSES AND EFFECTS.
With reference to the rate wars in the
Northwest, and among the trunk lines
during the year, the report says: AS is
trunk line difficulties resulted from sus-
picions on the part of the carriers,
respectively, that their competitors were
cutting the open rates, and reductions
were made to recover freight which the
parties to the agreement claimed was
their dues, but which they were not get
ding because of secret cutting by others.
The efforts of the Commission to obtain
evidence of the practice suspected have
been wholly ineffective, and the war of
rates proceeds without possibility of
external authority interposing to bring it
to an end.
The making of unreasonably low rates,
the report in,imates, is often for stock
Jobbing purposes, or to compel the pur-
chase Of the road by competing lines.
Persons having control of railroads may
deliberately make insufficient rates in
expectation of profits to be indirectly
and improperly derived therefrom. Every
case of war may be regarded as one of
this character. Present profits are sacri-
feed on the calculation that by crippling
rival or forcing an agreement or COM
promise on the matter of contention, the
loss will in time be more than made up.
In the majority of such cases the losses
exceed the gains. The statute had not
conferred upon the Commission any
power to oider any increase of rates
which it can see are not remunerative.
In general therefore it may be said that
the railroad managers possess the power
to destroy the interests, not only of their
rivals, but of their own stockholders.
They will recklessly make rates that will
lead to bankruptcy.
The question often becomes of high
moment whether it is wiser to meet the
reduced rates of competitor or let the
business 90. Yet the decision of this
question is left by important lines in the
hands OF subordinates who apparently
have no other notion upon the subject
beyond the rule that every cut must be
promptly met" Nothing seems more
surprising than the fact that railroad
manager who will neither take steps by
law to put stop to the secret cutting Of
rates which he publicly charges, nor
furnish evidence upon which others may
do, will nevertheless sacrifice for his
shareholders millions Of revenue to
punish it.
UNITY OF RAILROAD INTERESTS.
1t is reasonable to expect that the car
riers of the country will, where practical
BILE, make such joint arrangements that
the public shall find an arrangement
with one of them adequate for the pur-
pose of any single transaction. There
should be some means of forcing among
carriers the obligations, moral or legal,
that would grow out OF such arrange
ments. The tendency among railroads
seems likely to be in the direction OF
consolidation as the only means of
mutual protection against rate wars
But anything equivalent to the creation
of what is now technically denominated
as trusts" had hardly been supposed
possible, even If the parties were at lib
erty to form it at pleasure. Lacking the
concentration of authority the railroads
can do much towards better relations
with the public and do better service by
first establishing better relations among
themselves. The need of this is very
imperative. In all cutting of rates the
party beginning it makes charges or in
situations against its competitors. Car
riers cutting rates have proclaimed that
the reduced rates were all that could be
justly demanded, when persons having
experience knew that persistency in such
rates would lead directly to bankruptcy.
An impartial observer is compelled to
saw that such methods do not belong tn