Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-07-08
Let Us Have Concerted Action


sense influenced by any consideration for
Any effectusl laws which
should make those institutions fully
responsive to their obligations would
receive our hearty support. But We
have pointed out the circumstance that
this law builds up Canada at the expense
of the United States, that it is
oppressive on the people Of the Pacific
Coast not only as to the things they i'm
port from the East, but that it makes 1t
next to impossible to sell many OF our
California products on the A lantic sea-
board, where they encounter the compe'
tition of foreign products. In Los An
gelee, and all over the Pacific Coast, peo-
pie are paying in many cases from thirty
to fifty per cent. higher freights than
prevailed before this law was enacted,
on account of the decision OF the
Inter. State Commission on the long
and short haul clause of the act.
The Los Angeles HERALD is doing this
on the paper it imports from the East,
and 30 is every consumer, whether he
knows it or not, on all Eastern goods.
The decision of the Commission has
made it necessary for the railways to
make their transportation charges the
sum total OF their local rates and, as a
result, the Los Angeles Gamer and fruit
yaiser finds his business depressed.
Commissions of all kinds are very in
imical to the spirit Of democratic govern
ment. Taking the length and breadth
of the country, the rate at which sine
cures are being created is positively
alarming. Few of them do any god !;
while the whole country, outside OF a
limited region in the Mississippi valley 4,
is suffering from the Interstate Com
merce com mmission. Even the people of
the interior are damaged, because any
thing which Injuries the country at large
Injuries them. The building up OF i'm
mense railway sys ems in the British do
minions at the expense OF the ailway in
terests of the Uni ed States cannot fail
to have disastrous results. Trade
oncs diverted, and we have shown in q
previous article, taken from a Canadian
paper, that it is being diverted, and at
an alarming rate, is very hard to re-
cover. 1t would seem to be the very
height of folly to let this process 60 on
until our own people are crippled; and
the trade of the Orient, from which
Senator Thomas Benton expected SO
much as a result of the building OF the
Pacific railways, has been absolutely
engrossed by the Canadian Pacific and
it's tributary steamers.
A recent issue of the New York Nation
presented some very interesting points
as to the effect of the working of the
Inter. State Commerce law on California.
1t said
California occupies peculiar place in
our com merce, for its products compete
partly with those from other portions of
our country, but principally with tropical
fruits from abroad. From this it folio We
that he center of this competition, the
place where the fight for Californian su-
premacy must be- won, If won at all, is
the Atlantic sea board. This is heigh tened
NY lDc bucI ltCb bIldb W Iue COmptLl-
ton of California orap ges or raisins with
those from TIA y or Spain is added the
competition Of the water routes from the
Pacific with those by rail. This state of
things the sea- board cities regard with
complacency; for in any case, whether
from abroad or by sail or steamship from
The Pacific, these cities will be we'll sup
piled with vine, salmon, prunes, fruit,
olive oil, and the like. But it is other
wise with the merchants of the Pacific |
slope and the rail carriers which depend |
upon their sales for traffic. If trade is |
n developed, all transcontlnental inter
ests suffer. For many years, until
lately, these conditions have been recog-
nized in the tariffs which, on these |
special products from California to the
Atlantic Coast made rates low enough !
to allow OF sales as against the imported I
articles; while from California to the in
terror OF our country the rates were such
"a To he reasonable Of themselves, and I
although higher than to Boston or New
York, yet low enough to compete with
the foreign products shipped west ward
from the cities named To have refused
low rates to our seaboard would simply
have reduced California sales on this
SoooeJ "hooo PODplo WOuIu COutlDu6 DuV-
ing he European fruit; while the loss of
the revenue to the carriers from the At
lantic traffic would have required still
higher interior rates to earn the same
net profits as before.
The Nation explains very clearly the
working of the long and short haul clause
Of the Interstate Commerce act. That
journal takes an enlightened view of the
necessities of the hour if the United
States is not to be permanently crippled,
and California and the Pacific Coast
vitality damaged. 1t summarizes the
logic OF the situation thus:
Under this ruling, demanding equality
Of charge to all points, the transconti-
mental roads are placed between two
tires: If they make low rates to the At
antic, the rates to the interior must also
De 30 low as to yield no revenue; while
I high rates are made al round, both
carriers and California producers lose
,ha Eaatarn nnarkata The rarnadx, l;aa .