Omaha daily bee., 1889-09-22
A SURVIVAL or THE FITTEST.

isolated case. The causes leading to
this condition of affairs are many, but
the chief reasons are watered stocks
and over building of parallel and con-
tiguous lines. A man can start out from
this city and ride one hundred and
seventy-six thousand miles on the rail-
roads of this country without once using
the same road twice. In other words
there are one hundred and seventy-siX
thousand miles OF railroad in the
United States, which comprise one-half
of the mileage of the entire world. The
roads are not uniformity extended over
the area Of the entire country; some
portions are too thickly gridironed, Z,
while other portions have little or no
railroad facilities. If the roads were
equally distributed there would hardly
be enough to meet the requirements of
the public, but as it is these localities
which are especially favored with mile
age do not pay except in densely
populated states like Massachusetts.
There is no state in the union where
the mileage is so uniformly distri buted
and pays so we'll as in Massachusetts.
There is mile of road to every four
square miles of territory. But Massa-
chusetts is an exception. In the west
where the settlements are sparse and
lines practically parallel each other,
and enter the same fields for business,
the ruinous effect of competition is felt.
The present vast system OF the Atchi-
son, Topeka & Santa Fe paid large
dividends when it had but a single line,
but now it is on the verge of bankruptcy
on account of competition and building
branch lines into small fields already
occupied by other roads.
The fact that western roads do not pay
has led their officers and managers into
new channels of thought regarding
their management and gradual work
ing back to a paving basis.
AS overprodaction in industrial
branches brings about the formation Of
trusts to regulate the supply, this idea
has taken hold of railroad men, and
there is now considerable talk OF form
ing trust for railroads. A
New York banker advises the
formation of what he terms
the North American Railroad Invest
Ors' union, which shall be composed
of the shareholders owning the control
of the leading railroad corporations of
the United States and Canada.
The evils resulting from a reckless
building of railroads in sections of the
country where they are not needed, the
corrupt operation of construction COM
panies, and the paralleling of railroads
for purposes of blackmail, as illustrated
in the building of the Nickel Plate road,
are so pronounced that the officials have
hit upon the trust plan as remedy for
the trouble. The railroad commission
ers of England have the power to pro-
hibit, and have always exercised the
right to enioin the construction of
parallel lines where they were not de-
manded by public necessities. There is
nc adequate law in this country govern
ing such cases.
The ostensible purpose of railroad
trust, as set forth by the originator OF
the scheme, is to psevent a cutting of
rates, which is so disastrous to railroad
profits when business is not good. AS a
startling illustration of the present
tendency to cut rates to ruin
Gus extent it is only necessary
| to refer to recent rate wars.
Such ruinous competition must neces-
| sarily infct great loss on the roads, but
| the public are not gamers by the mat
| ter for the reason that the subsequent
efforts of the roads to regain what the y
| have lost more than makes up the diff
| ference in favor of the public.
1t is insisted on the part of the road
that the shareholders have the legal
right to form a trust il they so desire.
| and the inviolability of contracts is
cited as an evidence OF this right.
| This, however, does not fill the bill
under supreme court decisions of most
of the states, and of the United States.
States have right to regulate the
| charges of all common carriers. The
| greatest step ever taken in this direc-
| tion was the passage of the inter state
commerce law. The regulation OF rail-
road charges under this law gave rise
to the first idea towards consolidation
OF railroad interests in this country. A
| nurDOny Oi lnuereSJS SoeHlS neCeSSdry
to large number Of railroads il they
are longer to exist and do business.
The public. however. will not be COM
PEELED to stand by and witness the form.
alton of railroad trust for purposes OF
public robbery in the putting up OF
freight charges TO such an extent that
the carrying business will not stand il
and leave profit for dealers and pro-
ducers. The only means Of protection
the people have is still further and
more extended federal control OF rail
road business. Under a national law
prohI biting dangerous railroad com
binations the various states may take
the cue and pass analogous enactment'
for local purposes. If the railroad man
ayers cannot make money under present
conditions let them cease the cut-throat
policy OF building useless roads. Until
they can come to see the matter In this
light the railroad situation should be
regarded as an ordeal through which
the roads may pass or fall bankrupt by
the wayside. 1t will prove a salutary
lesson and the rule OF the survival OF
Il - L :. l..