Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1889-01-17
COOLEY AND HIS HOBBY
He Attends the Dinner Of the Boston
Merchants Association and Talks.
He UphOlds the Long and Short Raul
and the Pooling Clauses of the
Commerce Law - Railroad Companies
Rather Than the law Need Reforming

BOSTON, The annual dinner of the
3aston Merchants association, which
took place Tuesday evening in the Hote
Yendome proved to be grand affair.
Among the invited guests were the fol-
lowing: Chairman Cooley, of the inter
state commerce commission; Prof. R CHI.
ard Ely, of Johns Hopkins university;
f. B. Thurber, Gov. Ames, Pres. Capen,
of Tufts college; Gen. Francis A, Walker,
Josiah Benton, r., and Gen. n p. Banks
After diner Competition and Comb
nation" and allied subjects, was an
nounctd as the topic for discussion.
Judge Cooley was the first speaker. He
said in part: "An urgent call for mod
ifcation of an act which comes from rail-
road circles has sprung up recently.
The period of which the law oper-
aJed most to rhe benefit of railroads
was precisely that during which its
provisions were being observed. / think
that an undeniable fact, ard if it Is, it is
deserving of more attention than it has
received up to this time from the mon
ayers of railroads. 1t was also period
during which the law was com planned of
least. There are very vigorous com
plants Low. They relate main
which forbid a greater charge on
a shorter hanl on the same line in the
same direction where the circumstances
and conditions are similar, and that
which makes pooling unlawful. The
fist mentioned clause embodies the prin
cipal right in itself. In large sections
of country the roads have come into con
formity with it, and not suffered any loss
from doing so. In others it was not
practicable TO do 50, at least
mediately. Bat difficulties will
diminish as the managers come to bet
ter understanding among themselves.
The law intends that the railroad bust
ness of the country shall be done openly
and with full publicity. This equal and
| Just purpose ia defeated by contrivances
that are clearly opposed to the intent of
the law, if not to its terms. Now, when
parties are thus busy in CON
| irving methods for rendering the Law
of no eject and their evasioAs of its
purpose are seen to have a direct ten
deucy TO diminish cooperative revenues
they are hardly parties to and put them
selves upon the stand to prove that the
! law is il juring their roads. l must insist
that the argument now made for pooling
is radically unsound and vicious, because
it rests upon the assumption that
/ the violation of the law by one
| ia the Justification Of another
! When the pool as it used 10 be formed
/ broke up, there was no enforcing such
obligations az had been incurred while II
existed, there was no com eLiug the
/ payment of balances. Pools antag onize
| the leadinp and the must valuable prin-
ciples of industrial life in their at
tempt nos to curb competition merely
but 10 put an end to it, All these thing
| 90 TO show that something else needs re-
! forming besides the law. One who inves
| tigates railroad disorders will be surpris'
| ed to find how many of them, though
/ plainly opposed to the spirit of the
law, may still be practically legal
An evil in the railrOG4 service is d
combination between the scaiper and the
uuscrupulous general passenger agent
| This viii be broken up just as soon as
I there Is applied in railroad matters
maxims of business prudence which are
expected to control railroad interests. Ii
the combination is in the same person
/ the Two characters of railroad manager
in whatever ch,ial position and OF
Spectator in railroad stocks could be
rendered impossible, we might hope 80
see the time when the question what Is
right and wrong in rsllroad matters
would be heard good deal oftener than
it is now, and the question, what can b.
done in evasion of law without encOHn-
rering its penalties, good deal more IN
frequently