Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-06-29
A Law That Works at Cross-Pur-

poses.
1t is a most serious and un-looke d for
result of the inter-Sta Commerce law
that it has placed merican roads in
irons, and enabled the Canadian Pacific,
q foreign road, to get away with a very
large slice Of the local carrying business
of this country. At first blush, the
principle of the interstate law seemed
just. The long and short clause Of
the law has forced the roads to make the
short haul the unit of freight rates, and,
as consequence, the great distributing
points that are located at the terminal or
the competitive points of the lines, have
to pay rates that are go high as to enable
the Canadian Pacific to carry off great
part of the traffic. For instance, the
American roads are obliged under the
law to carry freight from New York to
San Francisco at rate that is fixed from
the unit of the rates intermediate to these
points. That rate is immovable under
the law, for if the roads lower it at the
terminal points, then it must be lowered
at all intermediate points, for inter- State
traffic, to figure that will afford the roads
not only no profit, but, as they claim,
will involve in many cases absolute loss.
The foreign road is under no obligation to
pay any attention to this law. 1t comes
into New York and offers to take San
Francisco freight at rates far below what
the American roads can take it for and
obey the law. The result is the Cana
dian-Pacific is enjoying, through an
American law, protection from competi.
ton from American roads for American
business Is there not something gu
premely absurd in a statute of the
United States enabling foreign railroads
to successfully destroy the business OF
American railroads?
But, persons who have not examined
this seemin ely paradoxical operation Of
the law, will ask, how it is the Canadian
Pacific can afford to make the long and
circuitous haul between New York and
San Francisco at less rates than can the
American roads with much less
distance to carry? The answer to
this is, in the first place, that
the Canadian road is not affected by our
long and short-haul legislation; and, in
the second place, that road enjoys enor-
nous subsidies in lands and money from
the Dominion as we'll as the Imperial
government which enable it to "reach
out" for American traffic and capture it.
1t is, however, not a condition which
the American people will long permit to
exist, this unnatural and ruinous COM
petition made possible by law seem.
ingly .ounded upon just principle, but
practically shown to be injurious to
American interests. The establishment
of a commission to sit in judgment upon
all the railroads of the United States,
and to regulate, under an immature law,
the traffic of this country, has been
tried for several years, and has not been
notable success. The law and the
commission have succeeded in accom-
plishing two things which are the very
reverse of the design of the legislators
who passed the law. They have
succeeded in making the cost of
freight about fifty per cent. more
than it was before they were
in existence; and, at the same time, they
have 80 diminished the traffic of the
roads by driving it to foreign rival
road, as to leave the earnings of our own
railroads, in spite of the increased rates,
much less than they were when the
rates were low. Now, it seems to us
that law and commission that accom-
plish such results cannet long exist when
the facts are thoroughly known and I'M
derstood by our people.
1t is idle to suppose that any commits
sion could justly, or even intelligently,
regulate the railroad traffic of this coun-
try. 1t is task beyond the ability Of
any commission, however great intel
lectually. The men who are at the
head of each depar tment Of every road
are of the highest order an0 OF tine most
thorough experience, technically and
in their business. These men
have made a life-study of their calling,
and are masters at the disentanglement
and adjustment of difficult problems in