The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-01-09
THE INTER- STATE LAW.
Chairman cooley's Talk to the Bos-
ton Merchants Club.

Boston, Jan. S.-The annual dinner of the
Boston Merchants Association occurred at
the Hotel Vendome tonight. The invited
guests were Hon. T. M. Cooley, chairman of
the Interstate Commerce Commission
Prof. Richard T. Ely, of Johns Hopkins
University; ex-Mayor Seth Lowe, of Brook
lyn; Col. E. F. Shepherd, of the New York
Mail and Express; Hon. Francis B. Thurber
and Hon. S. G. Ladd, of New York; Gov.
Ames, Mayor Hart, Collector Saltonstall,
President Capen of Tufts College, Gen. f.
A. Walker, and several presidents of other
Boston clubs and several congressmen-elect
An informal reception preceded the banquet.
After dinner messages of regret were read
from Allen G. Thurman. John Wanamaker,
Abram S. Hewitt and Chas. f. Adams.
The principal address of the evening was
delivered by Hon. T. M. Cooley, chairman
of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Judge Cooley spoke on combinations and
concentration of interests for purposes of
transportation. He said the Interstate CON-
merce act was intended to correct enormous
abuses previously existing, but which could
not be corrected without cutting off some
improper sources of income. The
Jaw at first benefited the rail-
roads. because its provisions we've
observed. During that period the law was
are now made against those provisions for
bidding greater charge on a smaller haul
and making pooling unlawful. The former
provision embodied a right principle. In
large sections of the country the roads are
conforming to 1t without loss The difficulties
hn
come to better understanding among them
selves. The equal and just purpose of the
law is defeated by c0ntrivances opposed to
its intent. People guilty of these contriy-
ances are hardly the parties to take the
stand to prove that the law Injuries their
roads.
The argument in favor of pooling is un-
sound because it rests upon the assumption
that the violation Of law by one is a justifca-
ton vf its violation by another. Sentiment
In railroad circles on this subject Is opposed
to sound public morality ana tends TO per
petuate the evils under which the roads now
suffer. The most that can be said In favor
OF the old pooling is that it tended to main
tain and steady rates. For large proper
tion of railroad controversies, voluntarily
pooling cannot possibly be the remedy, for
they concern matters which must he settled
before there can be any pooling. When the
old pooling broke up. there was no means of
enforcing the obligations incurred while it
existed. With legalized pooling there might
be power to do this, and such power would
be the only advantage the legalized pool
would have over the old form.
A great legalized pool would be in the ma
ture OF a trust, and trusts are to be feared
They attempt to kill competition, and thus
antagonize the leading, valuable principle in
industrial life The course pursued by the
leading trust of the country has been such
as to emphasize fear of them. and the bene-
fits derived from its cheapening an article of
commerce are Insignificant when compared
with the mischief that follow exhibitions in
many forms of the mercileSS power of con-
centrated capital. Something else needs re-
forming besides the law. In any line of
business the law can do only poor reforma-
tory work until the moral forces in that busi-
ness come to its support.
Many things plainly opposed to the spirit
ofthe law may be practiced legally. Rate
cutting In the passenger service is largely
done through the use of tickets which the
law plainly exemptS from its provisions and
coupon tickets are so manipulated by one
company as to cut the rates of another, with
out the other being a participant, otherwise
than as 1t suffers from the fraud thus prac-
tlced. One OF the crying evils now needing
remedy Is the combination between the
scalper and unscrupul0us general passenger
agent. This will be broken up as soon as
there are applied to railroad matters the
same maxims of business prudence which are
expected to control in other interests. If a
combination in the samesperson of the rail-
road manager and speculatOr in railroad
stocks could be rendered impossible we
might hope to see the time when the question
of what is right and wrong in railroad mat
ters, would be heard much oftener than now
and the question what can be done in eyas-
ion of the law without incurring its penal
ties much more infrequently